Beavers continue season-long win streak
Victory over Southern Aroostook keeps team at top of standings
Boys’ Basketball
In a much-anticipated showdown between a pair of undefeated teams, the Washburn Beavers got the better of the Southern Aroostook Warriors by a 21-point margin Thursday in Dyer Brook.
The victory helped keep Washburn, now 10-0 following a win at Madawaska Monday, in first place in Eastern Maine Class D. Southern Aroostook is in second, with Fort Fairfield, under first-year coach Logan McLaughlin, in third with an 8-2 record.
After a season-opening win, Limestone-MSSM has now lost nine of its last 10 and is in 18th place in the 22-team division.
The Caribou boys were able to hold off Presque Isle at home last Wednesday before using a second-half comeback to gain some huge Heal Points in a win over Hermon Saturday. The Vikings are currently at 6-3 and in fifth place in EM Class B.
“We’re playing better,” said Caribou coach Chris Casavant. “After our loss to Old Town [Jan. 3], we did some soul searching in practice. Even though we struggled in the first half against Presque Isle, we put together two really good practices Thursday and Friday leading up to the Hermon game. I think we are moving in the right direction.”
Summaries of boys’ games played through Monday follow:
Washburn 84, Madawaska 53 — In a Monday road contest, the Beavers kept their winning streak going behind 22 points from Jarrett Olson.
McCall Turner put in 15 points, a career high, and Noah Caron chipped in 11 for the 10-0 Beavers.
Cedric Gendreau tallied a team-high 20 points for the Owls.
Caribou 52, Hermon 50 — Junior center Ricky Sheldon hit two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to break a tie score as Caribou bested the Hawks in Hermon Saturday.
The Vikings trailed by 12 points at halftime, but whittled the lead to one at the end of three quarters. After shooting under 25 percent from the floor over the first 16 minutes of play, Caribou upped their percentage to 50 after intermission to help the cause. The team also made 18 of its 19 free throw attempts, including the two clutch ones courtesy of Sheldon.
Hermon’s Joe Plummer attempted a wide open three-point attempt at the buzzer which would have given his team the win, but it was just off the mark.
Dayne Savage led Caribou with 16 points, while Taylor Thibodeau added 12 and Sheldon and Donovan Savage eight each. Tim Dassow came off the bench to contribute five rebounds and four assists.
East Grand 58, Limestone-MSSM 42 — The East Grand Vikings collected their first victory of the season against seven losses behind Jimmy Brittain’s 16 points.
The game was played Saturday in Danforth.
David Smith scored 18 points for 2-9 Limestone-MSSM.
Fort Fairfield 69, Ashland 34 — Hunter Beaulieu turned in a statistical “double-double” with 19 points and 12 rebounds to help the home team Tigers defeat Ashland Friday.
Robbie Watson chipped in with 17 points for the winners, while Cody Blair had 16, including four three-point field goals, for the Hornets.
Washburn 63, Southern Aroostook 42 — Olson’s 19 points and Cameron Bragg’s 15 helped the quick-starting Beavers win big on the road Thursday in Dyer Brook.
Washburn jumped out to a 7-0 lead and maintained the advantage throughout. The Beavers outscored SA by a 23-10 margin in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Mathers scored 14 points for Southern Aroostook.
Central Aroostook 76, Limestone-MSSM 54 — Pryor led the way for Central Aroostook with 25 points Thursday in his team’s home victory over Limestone-MSSM.
McGrath and Colby Kingsbury scored 10 points each and Zachary Crouch chipped in with nine as the Panthers won for the second time against the Eagles this season.
David Smith tallied 23 points and Alex Sprague added 20 for Limestone-MSSM.
Washburn 61, Ashland 40 — At Washburn last Wednesday, Bragg and Olson powered the Beavers past the Hornets by scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Olson added five rebounds and seven steals for an impressive statistical line. Cameron Preston was solid as he provided six points, six rebounds and five blocks.
Ashland was led by Blair’s game-high 22 points.
Fort Fairfield 45, Fort Kent 37 — At Fort Fairfield last Wednesday, the Tigers’ strong defensive effort led the way toward an important win. Caleb Daigle and Robbie Watson paced Fort Fairfield with 11 points each, while Hunter Beaulieu added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Matt Daigle scored 13 points for the visiting Warriors.
Caribou 70, Presque Isle 49 — Dayne Savage was the difference in last Wednesday’s rivalry matchup as he scored 31 points to allow the Vikings shake off a pesky Wildcat team before a large crowd at CHS.
Donovan Savage chipped in with 13 points for Caribou, while Buckley led the Wildcats with 13 points and Andrew Paterson netted eight.
