It is down to the final week of basketball for schoolboy squads, and local teams are looking to move up in the standings to gain a better spot for the postseason.
The regular season ends Friday, Feb. 5, with preliminary playoffs starting Feb. 9-10, 2016 for teams in the Class B, C and D north regions.
Southern Aroostook remains red-hot in the Class D North region. The Warriors (11-3, 74.5062 points) are currently in second place behind top-ranked Easton (12-2, 78.1481). The two teams split during the regular season, each winning at home.
If the Warriors remain as the No. 2 seed, they would face the winner of the No. 7 vs. 10 preliminary matchup (currently Shead and East Grand/GHCA) in a quarterfinal game in Bangor Feb. 10. East Grand/GHCA is 4-11 on the season and appears poised to make the postseason.
Katahdin (3-12, 4.3210) is currently in 12th place, two spots out of playoff contention.
In Class C North, Hodgdon (8-7, 46.2346) is seventh in the region. If the Hawks remain as the No. 7 seed, they would host a preliminary playoff game against the No. 10 squad (currently Sumner, 7-8) on Feb. 10.
In Class B, Houlton (1-13, 8.1481 points) is 14th and not in the playoff mix. The Shires would have to move up two spots to the No. 12 seed to qualify for a preliminary playoff. Houlton played Caribou Tuesday, hosts Hermon Saturday, and finishes on the road at Presque Isle Feb. 1 and at Mattanawcook Academy Feb. 3.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Stearns 41, Katahdin 57 — At Stacyville Saturday, sophomore Brody Guiggey led a balanced scoring effort with 15 points to propel Katahdin to the win. Senior Dakota Reinhardt contributed 14 points and junior Devin McGraw added 11 for the Cougars.
For Stearns, Devin Whitney tallied 14 points while Colby Waceken chipped in 12 and Seth Garvin had 10.
The Cougars led 17-11, 23-20 and 30-26 at the quarter breaks.
Hodgdon 31, Shead 40 — At Eastport, Matt Harris paced the Tigers with 13 points to lead Shead to victory. Riley Demolet added 12 points and Ryan Eylar chipped in with nine.
Junior Daden Palmer scored 15 points to lead Hodgdon.
Hodgdon led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter, before Shead came back to tie the game at 22-22 at halftime. The Tigers led 28-25 after three periods.
East Grand/GHCA 20, Van Buren 35 — At Van Buren Saturday, Joseph Canwell and Luc Perrault paced the Crusaders with 12 and nine points, respectively, to earn the victory.
For the Vikings, sophomore Thomas Gilman tallied five points while freshman Isaac Potter and junior Jed Grant each added four points.
Van Buren led 13-5, 18-14 and 28-16 at the quarter breaks.
Woodland 52, So. Aroostook 70 — At Dyer Brook Saturday, junior Nolan Altvater led all scorers with 25 points to propel Southern Aroostook to victory. Junior Jackson Mathers contributed 19 points for the Warriors and Tyler Batchelder added 13.
For Woodland, Dylan Leighton tallied 16 points and Drew Heyward had 15.
SACS led 25-13, 46-31 and 61-37 at the quarter breaks.
Old Town 51, Houlton 30 — At Houlton Saturday, Drew Coulombe recorded 17 points to propel Old Town to victory. Kaleb Gifford chipped in 13 points for the Coyotes.
Senior Jacob Brown led Houlton with eight points.
Old Town led 14-9, 20-15 and 36-24 at the quarter breaks.
Ashland 28, East Grand/GHCA 61 — At Danforth Thursday, Potter poured in 26 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy to victory. Freshman Cole Winslow added 12 for the Vikings.
For Ashland, Mitchell Deabay tallied 10 points.
Central Aroostook 48, So. Aroostook 82 — At Dyer Brook Thursday, Mathers scored 28 points, including the 1,000th point of his career, to lead Southern Aroostook to victory. Altvater added 20 points and Riley Robinson chipped in 14 for the Warriors.
Central Aroostook was paced by Dustin Pryor and Zackery Crouch with 10 points apiece.
The Warriors led 22-10, 41-23 and 62-34 at the quarter breaks.
Fort Fairfield 61, Katahdin 45 — At Stacyville Thursday, Fort Fairfield took a 22-point lead into the half en route to the win. Chris Giberson recorded 20 points and Isaac Cyr added 17.
Guiggey led the Cougars with a game-high 27 points, while senior Tyson Porter added seven and sophomore Hunter Craig had six.
Fort Fairfield led 22-13, 45-23 and 49-37 at the quarter breaks.
Hodgdon 42, Washburn 65 — At Washburn Thursday, the Beavers ran out to a 33-11 first-half lead and cruised to the victory. Jarrett Olson powered Washburn with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. McCall Turner added 10 points and Noah Caron and Derek Baker each had nine.
Hodgdon was led by Palmer with 13 points, while senior Jimmy Buzzell and junior Jordyn Merritt added 11 points each.
Washburn led 21-9, 33-11 and 49-26 at the quarter breaks.
East Grand/GHCA 38, Machias 80 — At Machias Jan. 20, Jordan Grant scored 14 points to help the Bulldogs notch the win. John Massaad and James Mersereau tossed in 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs. Tyler Wentzell grabbed 11 rebounds and John Massaad had eight.
Winslow paced East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy with 12 points, while Potter added eight and Gilman had seven.
Machias led 28-7, 43-22 and 68-29 at the quarter breaks.
Katahdin 36, Schenck 70 — At East Millinocket Jan. 20, Justin Thompson scored the 1,000th point of his career to propel Schenck to victory. Thompson had 16 rebounds and five assists to go along with his 28 points.
Chris King added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines while Travis Thompson had 13 points and six rebounds.
For Katahdin, Guiggey tallied 12 points and junior Devin McGraw chipped in nine.
Schenck led 15-12, 32-22 and 58-27 at the quarter breaks.
