Below are summaries of Wednesday evening’s basketball action, which included a decisive win by the Presque Isle boys over Caribou and Easton’s second setback in a week to the unbeaten Southern Aroostook girls.
On the slate tonight, Ashland is at Van Buren for a doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m., while the LCS/MSSM teams play at Washburn at the same times, 5:30 and 7 p.m. In a pair of girls’ rematches, Fort Fairfield hopes to pull off the season sweep of Fort Kent with a 7 p.m. schedule tipoff in Fort Kent and Central Aroostook makes the short trip to Easton for the second meeting in 10 days, with the Panthers winning the first one, 64-48. Game time is also 7 p.m.
Boys
Presque Isle 64, Caribou 39
The Wildcats outscored the Vikings in the second quarter, 20-6, and went on to the easy victory in the rivalry contest played Wednesday, Jan. 11.
Presque Isle dominated inside against the much-smaller Vikings, with Wildcat 6-4 center Bradley Kinney leading the charge with 16 points.
“I was very pleased with the guys’ effort,” said PI coach Terry Cummings, whose team improved to 6-2 (fifth place in Class B North) and has already doubled its win total from last season. “Offensively, I thought we did a good job utilizing our height advantage in the post and Bradley continues his excellent play by controlling the glass at both ends.”
Griffin Guerrette, who did not play in a Jan. 2 game at Fort Kent due to illness and was held scoreless in the loss at Central Jan. 7, bounced back with 15 points against Caribou. Backcourt mate Jonah Hudson hit crucial back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 11 points. Jason Dumais and Pat Cash had strong games off the bench and had eight and six points, respectively.
Caribou, which dropped to 2-7 (13th place) and has now lost five straight, was led by freshman Parker Deprey. The 6-foot freshman drained three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Classmate Alex Bouchard canned four field goals and totaled nine points and the Vikes combined for just four other field goals in the entire contest against PI’s stifling 1-3-1 halfcourt zone defense.
“I thought our defense worked well,” Cummings said. “We only had a couple of days of practice this week to implement it, but the guys responded. It was just another great team effort.”
Fort Fairfield 67, Central Aroostook 46
Also on Wednesday, Jan. 11, in a contest held in Mars Hill, the Tigers made it five victories in a row behind Ryan Player’s season-high 17-point performance.
Zach Crouch paced Central Aroostook (6-4 and in fourth place in Class D North) with 16 points.
The Tigers (7-1 and in second place in Class C North) won the first matchup between the two teams in Fort Fairfield, 60-38.
Ashland 56, East Grand 41
The Hornets proved too tough for the host Vikings on Tuesday, Jan. 10, as Bailey Clark and Kyle Beaulier combined for 35 points.
“It was a close game but we made some key plays and defensive stops to pull away in the third quarter,” said Ashland coach Lucas Belanger, whose team improved to 3-6. “Some bench players stepped up big and made shots as well.”
Clark scored 19 points and Beaulier 16 to lead the winning attack. Steven Bellanceau netted nine more.
Brady McEwen’s 14 points led East Grand.
Girls
Southern Aroostook 46, Easton 36
The Bears stayed close for three quarters on Wednesday, Jan. 11, but the host Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Easton for the second time in a week.
Three SA players reached double figures in scoring, led by eighth-grader Kacy Daggett with 12 points. Freshmen Sydney Brewer and Makaelyn Porter added 11 and 10, respectively. The Warriors are now 7-0 and in second place, behind only Shead of Eastport, in the Class D North Heal Point standings.
“They got us in early foul trouble which forced us to draw back our pressure,” said Warrior coach Cliff Urquhart. “I thought Easton shot the ball very well in the first half and it really kept them within striking distance.”
Isabelle Morin, who was held scoreless in the first meeting against the Warriors on Jan. 6, tossed in 13 to pace the Bears, now 5-5 but still in fifth place in the Class D North rankings. Elise Allen scored nine points and Delia Bonner chipped in with eight for Easton.
“We stuck to our 2-3 halfcourt zone most of the game and the girls really worked hard to close out on their shooters,” said Bears’ coach Bryan Shaw. “Isabelle attacked the basket more than ever to draw key fouls, but all our players looked to be a threat offensively.”
