Shires win opener: Face test tonight against Presque Isle

Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
DRIVES — Houlton’s Nick Guiod drives the lane for a layup during last Friday night’s season opener against Madawaska.
By Gloria Austin and Tim Guiod
    At times it wasn’t smooth, but the Houlton Shiretowners picked up their first win of the season over Madawaska, 65-40, and will face one of their harder tests tonight when Presque Isle comes to town.
    “Presque Isle is a big team,” said first-year Houlton coach Rob Moran. “They have a couple of players back who did not play last year. We will need to rebound the ball to compete with them in the paint. We need to play very well to win.”
    The two coaches are very familiar with one another, as Moran and Presque Isle coach Terry Cummings were once teammates. Presque Isle opened its season with a 67-34 win over Hermon.
    “Presque Isle also has a couple of kids who can hit the three,” Moran added. “We need to find them on the perimeter.”
    The Shiretowners cannot be faulted for their energy, as they got up and down the court. But, nerves or the sheer fact that many were hyped about playing their first game of the season, several making their varsity debuts, caused missed high percentage shots like layups and put backs.
    The Shires come into the season with a very young and talented squad with Doug Dickison, Zacharia Harvey and Cody Woods the lone seniors.
    “We missed a lot of makeable shots,” said Moran of Friday night’s game. “I liked our effort. But, we need to execute better on both ends of the floor.”
    Since this was the first game of the season for both teams, players traded turnovers showing early season jitters.. The teams swapped baskets throughout the first quarter, with Houlton holding a 12-10 lead.
     The Shires picked up the scoring pace in the second quarter behind Elyjah Crockett (eight points) and Nick Guiod (six points), as Houlton extended their lead, 31-16 at the half. The Shires’ defense was much better and they controlled the defensive boards, limiting the Owls to one shot.
Pioineer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
ONE-HANDER — Houlton’s Dan Howe puts up a running one-hander over Madawaska’s Matt Deschenes.
    “I did like our ball pressure at times,” said Moran.
    After halftime, the Shires went back to work and were able to move the ball pretty much at will, taking a 20-point lead.
    Kyle Bouchard, a 6-4 freshman forward/guard, spearheaded the Shires’ attack to begin the second half, scoring eight of his 18 game points in the quarter, helping to spread the scoring margin to 48-26. The last quarter saw the action going back and forth, with Madawaska keeping the pace, while Houlton freshman Jake Drew made his Shire debut leading the fourth-quarter scoring with seven.
    With the Shires’ inside height, they controlled the glass, with junior Dan Swallow and sophomore Crockett each finishing with a game-high 12 rebounds.
    By game’s end, all of the Shires had played on the floor, as Moran mixed and matched his rotations, with each player contributing in the victory.
    “I thought the bench played pretty well,” he said.
    Adding to the Shires’ scoring was Crockett with a dozen points and Guiod, who took charge of the team, chipping in with 10 points, five steals and five assists. Freshman Dan Howe, who also made his varsity debut, added four points, four steals and four assists.
    For Madawaska, Matt Deschenes dropped in a game-high 22 points, while Aaron Thibeault tallied 10.
    After tonight’s home matchup against PresqueIsle, the Shires will travel to Fort Kent on Friday.