By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
BANGOR — Shire fans held their breath Feb. 18 when Houlton junior center Christian Crane went down with an ankle injury late in Houlton’s quarterfinal contest with Bucksport.
Crane, who led the Shires in scoring with 15 points, fell awkwardly to the floor with less than five minutes to play in the game and was unable to return to action. After resting for two days, Crane was able to return to action Friday evening for the No. 1 Shires’ semifinal game against No. 5 Penquis. (See accompanying story.)
Kyle Bouchard chipped in 15 points, with 16 rebounds, six assists and two blocks for the Shires (19-0) as he faced double, and sometimes triple teams on the floor. All the attention Bouchard garnered opened things up for the rest of the Shires on the floor, as Crane and Elyjah Crockett (eight points) scored many open back-door layups.
Josh Gray led Bucksport (10-10 overall) with 16 points, while Riley Macleod hauled in 11 rebounds.
Houlton never trailed in the game, opening a 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. By the end of the first period the Shires were on top 16-9, and that lead grew to 24-14 by halftime. Houlton padded its lead in the third period, outscoring Bucksport 16-8 for a 40-22 lead.
“It was ugly, but a ‘W’ is a ‘W,’” Houlton coach Rob Moran said “The No. 1 seeds haven’t fared too well down here in Bangor, so we will take a win any way we can get it.”
One of the surprises during pre-game warmups was the appearance of Houlton senior Kole Buzzeo in uniform on the floor. Buzzeo missed the entire season with a knee injury that required surgery last December.
“I’m very happy for him,” Moran said. “He’s a great kid. I wish I could put him in the game because we could use him, but I can’t.”
The Shires struggled with foul trouble in the game, causing coach Moran to look deeper to his bench than he has in previous games of late.
