It’s beyond the midway point of the season for local high school basketball teams and the battle is on to earn spots in the playoffs, which are a month away.
As of Jan. 14, the Presque Isle girls are in 12th place in Class B North with their 5-5 record. The Caribou girls are 13th at 1-10. Only the top 11 teams in the division make the playoffs. In Class C, Central Aroostook is in second place at 9-1 and Fort Fairfield, also with a 9-1 record, is in eighth. Houlton (4-5) is in 10th and Hodgdon (6-4) in 11th. The top 14 in this class advance, with the top two earning byes straight into the quarterfinals.
On the Class D side, Southern Aroostook holds a 9-2 record and is in second place. Washburn is 4-5 and in sixth place, Katahdin seventh at 3-7 and Ashland is 3-5 and in 10th, with the top 10 moving on. Easton (0-10) and East Grand (0-7) are both still looking for their first victories.
For Class B boys, Caribou is in second place with an 8-3 record and Presque Isle, 6-5, is in ninth place, with the top 11 advancing and top five drawing first-round byes. Central Aroostook is atop the Class C rankings with a 9-1 mark, while Houlton (9-1) is in second, Fort Fairfield (6-4) in seventh and Hodgdon (4-7) in 12th. The top 14 teams make it into the playoffs and the No. 1 and No. 2 teams get byes straight into the quarterfinal round.
In Class D, Greater Houlton Christian Academy is in second at 8-1, Southern Aroostook (5-4) is fourth and Easton (7-4) is sixth. Washburn, at 2-7, is in ninth. The top 10 advance, meaning Ashland, 1-8 and in 13th place, and Katahdin, 2-10 and in 14th, are currently out of the playoff picture but both still could get in with a strong finish.
Summaries of games involving teams from the region played Jan. 7-12 are as follows:
Girls
Central Aroostook 60, Southern Aroostook 56 — The Panthers won for the ninth straight time, beating the Warriors in a home game Saturday afternoon. Maci Beals led the offense for CA with 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and Breann Bradbury posted 11 points, while Annika Nicholas totaled 14 rebounds. The Panthers trailed at halftime but turned the game around with a 17-7 third-quarter run. Kacy Daggett’s 19 points and Makaelyn Porter’s 16 led SA.
Stearns 53, Houlton 35 — At Millinocket Saturday, the Shires were unable to pull off the road victory. Individual results were not reported.
Orono 45, Presque Isle 33 — Molly McCluskey scored 11 points and Lauren Melanson grabbed 23 rebounds as the Red Riots beat the Wildcats for the second time this season Saturday in Orono. Maggie Castonguay had 11 points to lead PI.
Madawaska 58, Katahdin 20 — At Madawaska Saturday, Haley Landry and Makayla Hartsgrove each had five points to lead Katahdin in the loss. Riley Lausier had 19 and Brianne Thibault added 12 for Madawaska.
Fort Fairfield 58, Easton 13 — The Tigers had no trouble in Saturday’s game at the Barn in Easton. Freshman Camryn Ala scored 17 points, Amber Sherwood added 12 and Kourtney West 10 to pace Fort Fairfield. Cecilia Morin and Lydia Ferris each scored six for the Bears.
Wisdom 41, Katahdin 39 — At Stacyville Friday, the Cougars suffered a tough-luck loss to Wisdom. Individual results were not reported.
Woodland 42, Hodgdon 26 — At Hodgdon Saturday, Emily Curtis scored a game-high 22 points to lead Woodland. For Hodgdon, Allie Winship had seven points while Sabra Scott and Emma Drew each had five.
Van Buren 36, East Grand 31 — At Van Buren Friday, Leah Gendreau had 16 point to pace Van Buren to victory. Mallory Gilman had 13 points and Natalie Golding added eight for East Grand.
Madawaska 48, Washburn 24 — At Madawaska Thursday, Washburn senior Kassie Farley scored the 1,000th point of her career in the loss. Farley finished with 13 points. Brianne Thibeault paced the Owls with 12.
Ashland 49, Van Buren 31 — Jamie Poulin and Olivia Tardie tallied 19 and 18 points, respectively, and each grabbed seven rebounds to power the Hornets in Thursday’s home victory.
Houlton 43, Caribou 35 — Rebecca Howe scored 18 points and Mia Henderson had 13 as the Shires prevailed in Caribou Thursday. The frontcourt duo of Abbi Robbins (11 points) and Taylor LaBreck (10) led the Vikings offensively.
Central Aroostook 66, Easton 21 — The Panthers defeated the Bears Thursday in Easton as Maci Beals hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. Kayla Martin was also in double figures for CA with 10 points. Cecilia Morin and Lydia Ferris had seven points each for the winless Bears.
The Caribou defense provided by Sawyer Deprey (30) and Parker Deprey (22) makes life tough for Presque Isle’s Jason Dumais during Thursday’s varsity basketball matchup at Presque Isle High School. The Vikings trailed at halftime, but put together a big second half to win, 62-43. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Presque Isle 61, Caribou 41 — Faith Sjoberg scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half and Maggie Castonguay contributed 16 of her 17 in the second half as the Wildcats surged to a 61-41 victory Tuesday in Presque Isle. The game was close at halftime before PI went on a 36-18 run in the second half to come out on top. Taylor LaBreck and Kimmy Susi tallied 10 points each to lead the Vikings.
Southern Aroostook 62, Hodgdon 33 — At Hodgdon Jan. 10, the Warriors held Hodgdon to just six points in the fourth quarter to pick up the team’s ninth win of the season. Makaelyn Porter had 18 points to lead SA, while Kylie Vining and Kacy Daggett both added 14. Lauren McGillicuddy paced Hodgdon with 12 points, while Lambert had eight.
Central Aroostook 43, Fort Kent 32 — At Fort Kent Tuesday, the Panthers won their seventh consecutive game behind Breann Bradbury’s 22 points. Katie Levesque added nine for CA, while Hannah Daigle was the leading scorer for the Warriors with nine points.
Hodgdon 26, Fort Fairfield 24 — The Hawks limited the Tigers to one fourth-quarter point and prevailed to knock the host Tigers from the ranks of the undefeated. Kora Lambert’s 10 points led the visiting Hawks in the Jan. 8 matchup, while Amber Sherwood netted six to lead Fort Fairfield.
Southern Aroostook 83, Easton 13 — The undefeated Warriors had no trouble with the winless Bears at Dyer Brook Jan. 7. Individual scorers for this game were not reported.
Houlton 41, Central 34 — At Houlton Monday, Jan. 7, the Shires rallied from a 21-15 third quarter deficit to force overtime, and ultimately beat Central of East Corinth. Mia Henderson led the Shires with 17 points, while Olivia Henderson and Kennedy Buzzeo both had seven.
Boys
Central Aroostook 61, Southern Aroostook 48 — The Panthers boys made it nine victories in a row by defeating the Warriors in Mars Hill Saturday. Individual results were not reported.
Madawaska 57, Katahdin 44 — At Madawaska Saturday, the host-Owls picked up the win. Individual results were not reported.
Woodland 64, Hodgdon 30 — At Baileyville Saturday, the Dragons doubled up on Hodgdon. Individual results were not reported.
Orono 59, Presque Isle 44 — Connor Robertson and Zack Dill combined to hit 10 3-point field goals and score 47 points as the Red Riots avenged an early-season loss at home Saturday. Robertson finished with 25 points and Dill had 22. Jonah Hudson netted 17 points to lead the Wildcats, while Jason Dumais and Caleb Wheaton added nine and eight, respectively.
Houlton 73, Central 47 — At Houlton Friday, the Shires notched their ninth win of the year. Individual results were not reported.
Katahdin 53, Wisdom 40 — At Stacyville Friday, Giles and Justin Hurlbert both had 11 points to lead the Cougars. Trevour Couture had 14 points for Wisdom.
GHCA 60, Hodgdon 34 — At Hodgdon Friday, Parker Brewer tossed in 22 points, while Isaac Potter added 15 and Cole Winslow 14 as the Eagles soared to their eighth win of the season. Andrew Tuttle paced Hodgdon with 11 points and Dylan Jurson added seven.
Fort Kent 68, Fort Fairfield 42 — The Tigers trailed by just five points at intermission Thursday before the host Warriors controlled the second half and won going away. Dawson Watson led Fort Fairfield with 17 points and Chase Griffeth contributed 11.
Caribou 62, Presque Isle 43 — After trailing at halftime, the Vikings limited the Wildcats to 12 second-half points in Thursday’s win at Presque Isle. Parker Deprey scored 18 points and Isaac Marker added 16 to lead Caribou on offense. Sawyer Deprey chipped in with 12. Caleb Wheaton’s 15 points and Jonah Hudson’s 13 paced the Wildcats.
Madawaska 67, Washburn 49 — The Owls avenged an early-season loss to the Beavers by winning at home Thursday. Individual scoring details were not reported.
Houlton 61, Southern Aroostook 35 — At Dyer Brook Jan. 9, the Shires picked up the victory. Individual results were not reported.
Van Buren 40, Ashland 28 — The Crusaders got past the Hornets in Thursday’s matchup played at Ashland. Individual scoring details were not reported.
Easton 40, Southern Aroostook 39 — Isaac Currier hit a short jump shot from the baseline with 1.7 seconds left on the clock, giving the Bears the one-point win over the Warriors in Dyer Brook Jan. 7. Matt Pangburn hit for 10 points for Easton, while Camden Michaud had eight points and nine rebounds and Kyle Flewelling eight points and eight boards. Jacob Brooks, who hit a 3-pointer to put SA ahead by one with 30 seconds to play, paced his team with nine points.
Central Aroostook 70, Fort Fairfield 42 — The Panthers won their eighth straight game on Jan. 7 in Fort Fairfield as the brother combination of Ben and Josh Thomas combined for eight 3-point field goals and a total of 30 points. Ben Thomas led the way with 16 points and Josh Thomas had 14. Dawson Watson scored 12 for the Tigers.
