Two weeks are now in the record books for schoolboy basketball following a busy week of games. Gone are the days of long layoffs during the Christmas break as most high school squads will stay busy throughout vacation week with regular season games.
Southern Aroostook suffered two straight losses for the first time on the season after falling to Fort Fairfield Monday and to Washburn on Dec. 16. The Warriors now stand at 3-2 on the year and are third in their division. Washburn and Easton are ahead of SACS with 4-1 records.
East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy is sixth in Class D North with a 2-4 record, while Katahdin, also at 2-4, is 11th.
Hodgdon is off to a 4-2 start to its season in the Class C North division. The Hawks picked up wins over Katahdin and East Grand/GHCA this past week, but also fell to Easton. Hodgdon is currently sixth in its division, while George Stevens Academy remains undefeated at 6-0.
Houlton remains winless on the year in Class B North with an 0-5 record and is 16th in its division. Orono is the top-ranked team at 5-0.
The following is a recap of games played for the week of Dec. 15 through Monday.
So. Aroostook 45, Fort Fairfield 57 — At Fort Fairfield Monday, the Warriors were unable to hold off a fourth-quarter surge by Fort Fairfield, resulting in their second straight loss on the season. The Tigers used a balanced scoring attack to secure the 12-point win over Southern Aroostook.
Carter Bruce had five 3-pointers en route to 17 points for Fort Fairfield, while Isaac Cyr added 16 and Chris Giberson and Colin Goshorn both chipped in 10.
For SACS, Nolan Altvater poured in a game-high 25 points, while Garrett Siltz added nine and Jackson Mathers had eight.
SACS led 10-4, 28-24 and 41-35 at the quarter breaks, but were outscored 22-4 in the final period.
Calais 43, Houlton 36 — At Houlton Monday, Matt Perkins tallied 14 points to pace Calais (2-4) to victory over the hosts Shiretowners. Earon Grinage added nine points for the Blue Devils.
For Houlton, Garrett Ring led all scorers with 16 points and Cameron Graham chipped in 11.
Houlton led 11-9 in the first quarter but trailed 25-19 at the half and 33-29 after three periods.
Van Buren 34, East Grand 36 — At Danforth Saturday, the Vikings built a 12-point third quarter lead and held off a late surge by Van Buren for the win. The Vikings were led by Thomas Gilman’s 14-point, eight-rebound effort, while Isaac Potter chipped in 11 points.
Joey Canwell led Van Buren with 14 points.
Katahdin 46, Hodgdon 61 — At Hodgdon Saturday, Jimmy Buzzell poured in a game-high 31 points to lead the Hawks past Katahdin of Stacyville. Daden Palmer added 17 points for Hodgdon.
Devin McGraw led the Cougars with 17 points, while Brody Guiggey added nine and Hunter Craig and Tyson Porter both chipped in eight.
Hodgdon led 13-11, 28-16 and 39-28 at the quarter breaks.
East Grand 46, Hodgdon 67 — At Hodgdon Friday, the Hawks extended an eight-point halftime lead to a 40-point second half to defeat East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy. Palmer led the way with 17 points, Devin Ramsey had 16 and Buzzell chipped in 14 for the Hawks.
East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian was led by Isaac Potter with a game-high 21 points while Thomas Gilman added 12.
Hodgdon led 13-11, 27-19 and 45-33 at the quarter breaks.
Houlton 47, MDI 57 — At Bar Harbor Friday, Russell Kropff paced MDI with 14 points to lead the Trojans to victory. Riley Swanson and Graham Good each added 12.
For Houlton, Jared Fox netted 11 points, Jacob Brown chipped in 10, Graham added nine and Ring eight.
Houlton led 13-10 in the first quarter, but MDI surged to a 26-17 halftime lead. The Trojans led 38-32 after three periods.
Katahdin 37, Stearns 35 — At Millinocket Thursday, the Cougars won with a buzzer-beating shot by Hunter Craig.
Stearns’ Colby Waceken scored 17 points to lead the Minutemen. Katahdin’s Guiggey scored 11 points, while McGraw scored 10.
The two teams were knotted 6-6 at the end of the first quarter, with the Cougars up 16-13 at halftime. Stearns took a 26-22 lead after three periods.
“With only seconds left in the game, (Katahdin’s) Devin McGraw hit a 3-pointer to tie it up,” said Cougar coach Harry Doughty. “Stearns brought the ball inbound, but Dakota Reinhardt stole the ball, passed it down the court where Hunter hit a short jump shot to win the game at the buzzer.”
So. Aroostook 66, Washburn 69 — At Washburn Dec. 16, the Southern Aroostook boys suffered their first loss of the year in heartbreaking fashion as a half-court 3-pointer by Washburn’s Jarrett Olson at the buzzer sealed the game.
SACS’ Mathers had drained a 3-pointer over two Washburn defenders to tie the game at 66-66 with just 5.6 seconds remaining.
Washburn was led by Derek Baker with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Olson finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and Noah Caron added 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The Warriors (3-1) were led by Altvater, with 25 points, while Mathers added 22 and Siltz had 12.
Washburn led 15-5, 35-26 and 49-41 at the quarter breaks.
Machias 75, East Grand/GHCA 35 — At Danforth Dec. 16, Machias used a balanced attack to beat East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian. Jacob Godfrey led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Jordan Grant provided 10 and Alessandro Marotta added nine.
For the Vikings, Jed Grant led the way with 12 points and Thomas Gilman added eight.
Schenck 55 Katahdin 29 — At Stacyville Dec. 16, the Cougars were no match for the visiting Wolverines of East Millinocket. Schenck led 18-10, 29-16 and 38-23 at the quarter breaks.
Schenck’s Justin Thompson scored 24 points, and Chris King scored 14. Tyson Porter led Katahdin with 13 points.
Easton 50, Hodgdon 40 — At Hodgdon Dec. 16, Easton was led by Jake Flewelling with a game-high 21 points en route to the win against the Hawks. Logan Halvorson added 11 points for the Bears.
Jimmy Buzzell paced Hodgdon with 10 points, while Jordyn Merritt added nine and Daden Palmer eight.
Easton led 13-9, 29-12 and 33-25 at the quarter breaks.
Presque Isle 66, Houlton 64 (OT) — At Houlton Dec. 16, Griffin Guerrette scored a game-high 21 points and Kyle Rider added 17 as Presque Isle nipped the Shiretowners in overtime.
Brown led Houlton with 20 points and Fox chipped in 14, while Ring and Graham each netted 12.
Presque Isle led 18-17 in the first quarter and took a 30-25 lead into the halftime break. The Shires turned up the offense in the third period, snatching a 44-42 lead before the game was knotted at 57-57 at the end of regulation.
