HOULTON, Maine — The Calais Blue Devils, Washington County All-Stars, jumped to the early lead in the second annual Men’s League All-Star Game and picked up a thrilling 105-101 victory over the Houlton Men’s League All-Stars.
The Houlton All-Stars were missing their starting center, Frank DiStefano, early in the game, while only being able to connect on four field goals in the quarter down low, with basically no outside scoring, going 0/5 from long range.
Leading the way for Calais were: Ben Maloney 24 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists; Jordan Guy 17 points, rebound, two steals, assist, block; James Ramsdell 16 points, two rebounds, steal and an assist; Zac Atkinson, 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals; Ryan Lincoln, 11 points, six rebounds, assist; Brandon Tomah, 10 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and two blocks; Devin Hall, eight points, rebound, two assists; Toby Tomah, four points, two rebounds, two steals; Jason Speedy, four points, rebound, assist; and Charles Tomah, two points, five rebounds two assists.
For Houlton, Peter Bates led the way with 21 points, 19 rebounds, three assists, and a steal; Sam Henderson, 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists; Adam Hogan, 16 points, five rebounds, six assists, two; Matt Day, 15 points, seven rebounds, assist; James Bates, 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, steal; Patrick Goodall, nine points, seven rebounds, two blocks, assist; Caleb Dube, four points, two rebounds, steal; Lucas Flewelling, three points, three assists, steal, block; Zach Stubbs, two points, assist; and Jeremy Tarr, two points, three rebounds, assist.
Calais took the early advantage, and led by a score of 22-16, after the first 12-minute quarter, with seven of their 10 players getting in the scoring column.
Houlton dug in and buckled down in the second quarter, cutting into the substantial Calais lead, behind the efforts of Peter Bates and Matt Day down low in the paint, along with 3-point champion Sam Henderson and Adam Hogan from the outside. The guards shot 60 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Both teams shot identical numbers, 62.5 percent from the field connecting on 10 of 16 shots. The difference was from long range, as Houlton Stars hit three of their game high 11 3-pointers , whittling the lead to a 52-49 Calais advantage at the halfway break.
The fans witnessed a tough fought battle in the second half of action, as the Houlton All-Stars once again outscored their opponents 30-28, and Calais only had a one-point advantage after 36 minutes of regulation. Houlton once again concentrated from deep, with four different players netting 5 of 8 shots, which gave them not only hope, but the momentum heading into the final quarter of playing time.
Henderson, who performed a clean sweep in the shooting special events, swished a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to give him a game high of five. But more importantly, it gave his teammates their first lead of the heated contest.
At one point the Houlton All-Stars had stretched their lead to nine points, with only 4:53 remaining. The Devils were just that with their pesky defense, causing four straight possessions with no scored baskets by their opponents and making them count on the other end of the hardwood court
Calais All-Stars regained the lead and never looked back, taking the victory for the second straight season, with a final score of 105-101. Calais scored when it needed to, outscoring Houlton 25-22 in the final quarter, along with defending well, only allowing Houlton to shoot 36.3 percent in the quarter.
Calais’ Tomah received the Pioneer Broadband Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight game. Tomah assisted his teammates with the 105-101 victory in the All-Star game, being the only player to achieve a triple double.
Calais 22 30 28 25 — 105
Houlton 16 33 30 22 — 101
