PI boys bounce back for pair of victories
Easton Bears defeat 3 tough opponents
After beginning the season with a pair of losses, the Presque Isle Wildcat boys now own a modest two-game winning streak. The ’Cats won in overtime last Wednesday in Houlton, 66-64, and then were successful in their first home game as they downed John Bapst Saturday, 57-42.
Senior guard Caleb Nadeau hit a clutch three-pointer and a foul shot in the final five seconds of overtime, allowing PI to come back from a two-point deficit to prevail. Griffin Guerrette and Kyle Rider were the overall scoring leaders with 21 and 17, respectively.
Rider had another big outing Saturday by pouring in 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds as PI took the early lead and cruised to the win. Grant Stewart had 13 points and Guerrette 10 for the Wildcats, who don’t play again until Mount Desert Island and Ellsworth pay a visit Dec. 29 and 30.
“These were huge wins for us and gives us confidence moving forward,” said PI coach Terry Cummings. “This team gives it their all and our practices are very intense and competitive. We are really stressing the importance of depth players and it is showing.
“We want to improve each week,” he added.
The Easton Bears had a huge week with three point-worthy victories to push them near the top of the Class D North rankings.
Easton won three tough road games, stopping Hodgdon, Fort Fairfield and Washburn in a five-day span. First-year coach Manny Martinez’s team is now 4-1 and less than a point behind the Beavers for the No. 1 position in the Heal Point standings.
The streak began with a 50-40 triumph at Hodgdon last Wednesday. Jake Flewelling’s 21 points keyed the win, while Logan Halvorson had 11.
On Friday in Fort Fairfield, in a make-up game from earlier in the week, the Bears prevailed 49-46 behind 18 points each from Flewelling and Halvorson. Isaac Cyr had 22 for the Tigers.
Capping the big week was Monday’s 65-39 blowout at Washburn. Easton seized control early behind a stifling defense and the outside shooting of Halvorson, who scored 18 of his 23 in the first half. Drew Sotomayor and Flewelling tallied 16 and 12 points, respectively, and junior Hunter Brown gets the credit for helping shut down the Beavers’ top scorer, Jarrett Olson, who had just three field goals and nine points before fouling out late. Brandon Cropley scored 10 points for the Beavers.
The Fort Fairfield Tiger boys pulled off a big win Monday themselves. Carter Bruce hit five three-pointers to finish with 17 points, Isaac Cyr notched 16 and the FF defense limited Southern Aroostook star guard Jackson Mathers to two field goals and a total of eight points in a 57-45 home victory.
Colin Goshorn and Chris Giberson netted 10 points each for the Tigers, who improved to 2-3. In addition to dropping the overtime contest to Easton, Fort Fairfield had lost to Fort Kent by three points Thursday.
The Fort Fairfield girls were surprised by Katahdin on the road Monday, losing 57-49. It was the first loss for the Tigers after they opened with five consecutive victories. Georgia Landry fired in 17 points, Molly Cunningham had 16 and Courtney Stevens 15 for the 3-3 Cougars. Taylor Churchill fired in 23 points for FF.
The Tigers had rolled to wins over Fort Kent and Easton last week. In the 65-25 home win over the Bears, Chelsey Pelkey scored 19 points, with Delaney Leach scoring eight for the 2-2 Bears.
The Washburn girls were handed their first loss of the season at home last Wednesday to Southern Aroostook. The loss broke the Beavers’ 40-game winning streak. The youthful Warriors team, which has a roster comprised of only freshmen and eighth-graders, are now 4-1 on the year and atop the Class D North standings. Kassidy Mathers and Sydney Brewer scored 21 points each in the win.
Emilia Churchill had 25 points and Laina Mette 15 for the Beavers.
On Friday, Washburn (3-1) earned a 26-23 win at home over Wisdom. Churchill scored just two points, but Mette had a career-best 22 to key the offense.
The Beaver boys split other their two games last week, using Olson’s buzzer-beating three-point field goal taken from just inside the halfcourt stripe to defeat Southern Aroostook, 69-66.
Derek Baker nailed six three-pointers en route to a 22-point night for the Beavers. Olson had 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds and five assists, while Noah Caron had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Mathers and Nolan Altvater each scored 22 for the Warriors. Mathers’ three-pointer with five seconds left had tied the score before Olson’s heroics.
In Friday’s game against the Pioneers, 12 different Beaver players scored in the 75-34 rout. Cropley’s 16 points were tops for Washburn, which is now 4-1 on the campaign.
The Central Aroostook boys raced past Van Buren Monday, 50-24, after also drubbing Ashland Friday, 79-25. In the most recent win, Zach Crouch’s 12 points led a balanced Panther attack. CA has won three in a row following its opening-night home loss to Southern Aroostook.
The Panther girls played only one game — Monday’s 62-29 win at Van Buren. Karli Levesque scored 19 points and also ended up with 10 rebounds for CA, which owns a 2-1 mark. Caitlyn Harris scored 16 for the Panthers.
The Ashland girls are now 2-4 after losing to both Madawaska and Wisdom last week. Laura Sturgeon and Mackenzie Carter were both in double figures with 10 points each in the 51-36 loss at Madawaska last Wednesday.
The Hornet boys are still seeking their first victory. The squad is 0-6 after Monday’s loss to Wisdom in St. Agatha. Baily Clark had nearly half of his Ashland team’s points in the 57-37 defeat. Steven Bellanceau chipped in with nine.
