Hardwood action

Houlton girls coach Shawn Graham likes the way his team is playing at this juncture of the season, as they have won the last five of six games.
“In my opinion, we are playing our best basketball at the right time,” he said. “The difference between last year’s group and this year’s team is that we peaked too early last year.”
    The Lady Shires had three wins last week over Caribou, Lee Academy and Madawaska.
“We’ve had a number of girls step up as of late to add a little more balance in the scoring department,” said Graham. “Also, some of the underclassmen are getting better every game in terms of playing with intensity and being strong with the ball.”
The Lady Shires handed host Caribou a 55-34 loss on Monday.
“We got off to a great start and jumped out to a 20-6 first-quarter lead,” Graham said. “The girls really wanted this game, as they realize just how important every Heal Point is at this point in the season.”
Amanda Fogarty scored 11 of Houlton’s first-quarter points, including two 3-pointers, finishing the game with 16 points. Sam Keegan tossed in 11 points, while Tori Hanson netted 10, Bre Longstaff, seven and Makala Folsom six more. Hanson and Keegan combined for 17 rebounds and Marina Cameron had a solid night with five points and eight assists.
“Once again, we had great balance in our offense,” Graham added.
Saturday at home against Lee Academy, the Houlton girls earned a 59-27 win.
Hanson and Fogarty led the Lady Shires with 14 points each, while Longstaff had 12 including four 3-point field goals.
Graham said his team went 11 for 17 from the free throw line.
“Ten of our 12 players on our roster scored in the game,” he said.
On Friday night, the Lady Shires raced away from visiting Madawaska 62-8.
Cameron made three 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 17 points, while  Longstaff, Keegan and Fogarty tossed in 10 points apiece.
Last Wednesday, the Presque Isle Wildcats (17-0) defeated visiting Houlton, 75-35.
Presque Isle pulled away from Houlton in the second quarter, 33-25 and outscored them, 23-6 in the third for the win.
Cameron’s 18 points and Fogarty’s eight paced Houlton.
The Houlton Shiretowners came away with two wins and a loss against three tough opponents last week in Hodgdon, Presque Isle and Mattanawcook Academy.
Last Saturday, Houlton avenged their Dec. 22 one-point loss, 46-45, to Hodgdon with a 43-37 win in Houlton last Saturday (See story).
Last Thursday in Presque Isle, a 3-pointer by Wilder York midway through the second quarter broke a 13-13 tie and started a 14-6 Presque Isle run that closed out the first half. The Shiretowners closed within a point in the second half, but couldn’t recover taking a 55-50 loss.
Kyle Bouchard scored 17, while Nick Guiod added nine and Douglas Dickison chipped in with eight.
Last Tuesday in Houlton, the Shiretowners overtook Mattanawcook Academy, 64-56 behind Bouchard’s 27 points.
The Shires built a 15-point lead after three periods, surviving a Lynx fourth-quarter rally.
Dickison finished with 13 points for Houlton, who went 10-for-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
The Hodgdon Hawks split last week with a loss to Houlton on Saturday (see story) and a 67-44 win over Fort Fairfield in Hodgdon last Tuesday.
The Hawks used a strong second half, outscoring the Tigers, 41-24, to pull away for the win.
Brothers, Chris Hudson and Josh Hudson, each fired in 16 points, while Nick Lunn dropped in 15 and Tyler Sherman 14.
In girls’ action, the GHCA girls were outmatched by their opponents last week. On Saturday, the Lady Eagles fell to Van Buren, 75-32, at UM-Presque Isle.
Destinee Neureuther scored 18 points for GHCA, along with Olivia Lord with six points.
On Thursday in Danforth, the East Grand Vikings pulled out a 57-47 victory.
Shaunna Beaudoin paced East Grand with 20 points and Elisha Farley added 10.
For GHCA, Neureuther posted 19 points.
Last Tuesday, the Lady Eagles were overpowered, 58-30, in Easton.
Colby Walker scored 14 points and Lord added 10 to pace GHCA.
The East Grand girls were overtaken, 60-36, last Tuesday by visiting Southern Aroostook.
Sable Altvater scored 19 points for Southern Aroostook, while S. Beaudoin netted 11 points for East Grand.
The Lady Warriors raced by host Katahdin, 56-22, on Monday, as Altvater popped in 14 points and Olivia Raymond 10 more. Jess Tucker and Mataya Hartin each added eight points, while Katie Goodall scored six.
For Katahdin, Megan Merry posted 11 points and Brianna Majkowski put in nine.
Last Friday in Stacyville, the Penobscot Valley girls earned a 62-29 victory.
Merry made three 3-pointers on her way to 19 points for Katahdin.
On Saturday, the Lady Vikings were defeated by host Wisdom, 59-27. Elisha Farley and Kaitlyn Beaudoin paced East Grand with eight and six points, respectively.
In boys’ action, the GHCA Eagles overtook Van Buren, 58-41, last Saturday at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
The Eagles led 27-20 at halftime and then went on a 17-9 third-quarter run to pull away from the Crusaders. Micah Wiley knocked down 18 points, while Deyrell Vargas tossed in 17 and Ethan Holmes finished with 14.
Last Thursday, the Eagles soared by host East Grand, 68-19.
Adam Little led GHCA with 14 points, while Holmes netted 12 points and Jacob Long added nine.
For East Grand, Billy Stoddard and Alex Brittain each scored seven points.
On Monday, the Southern Aroostook Warriors overpowered visiting East Grand, 71-34.
Jesse Boulier scored 17 points for SACS, while Patrick Goodall added 11. For East Grand, Logan Crone scored 14 points and Neil Noble chipped in with 10.
Last Tuesday, the Warriors fell to visiting Katahdin, 74-61, in Dyer Brook.
Colton Bivighouse poured in 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to key Katahdin, while Wyatt Morse tallied 19, Jesse McNally 17 and Braden Cunningham 10 more for the winners in a balanced attack.
For SACS, Boulier led the way with 21 points, while Goodall finished with 14 and Cameron Landry with 10 more.
On Saturday in Dyer Brook, the Washburn Beavers overthrew the Warriors, 94-62.
SACS was led by Goodall with 28 points and Boulier with 12 points.
In Ashland last Thursday, the Cougars toppled the Hornets, 76-44, behind Bivighouse’s game-high 22 points. Bill Livezey tossed in 14 points and Jesse McNally added 11 more.
On Saturday night in Stacyville, the Central Aroostook Panthers raced away from the Cougars in the fourth for a 56-39 win.
Mike McClung led the 14-2 Panthers with 18 points, along with Dan Brewer’s 16 points and Brendan York’s 10 points.
Morse led Katahdin with 13 points and Cunningham controlled the glass with 18 rebounds.
On Monday, the Cougars edged visiting Penobscot Valley, 47-43, in overtime. The Cougars were a perfect 7 of 7 from the foul line in overtime to seal the win. McNally scored 13 points, with Bivighouse netting 12 and Livezey 11.