With the basketball regular season coming to an end in just over two weeks, local squads continue to jockey for positioning in the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Point standings.
In Class B North, the Caribou boys are 10-3 and in second place behind No. 1 Hermon (12-0). The Presque Isle boys are 8-5 and in seventh. The Wildcat girls are 7-5, good for seventh place, while Caribou is 2-11 and in 13th. Hermon is No. 1 at 10-0. The top 11 teams in this division make the playoffs, while finishing in the top eight guarantees either a bye into the quarterfinals (for those in the top five) or a home game for the preliminary round.
In Class C North, both Central Aroostook squads hold the No. 1 position. Both teams have run off 12 consecutive victories since losing their openers against Houlton in early December. The Houlton Shiretowners are in second for boys at 10-3 and the girls are 6-6 and in eighth. The Fort Fairfield boys are 7-5 and in 10th place, while the Tiger girls are 9-4 and in ninth. The Hodgdon boys, at 5-8, are in 13th position. The Hawk girls are in 11th with an 8-5 mark. The top 14 teams qualify for the postseason, with the top two earning byes and those in the third through eighth spots hosting in the prelim round.
For Class D North, GHCA is in second place for boys with a 9-2 record, while 11-0 Woodland leads the pack. Easton is currently fifth in Class D with their 8-4 record and Southern Aroostook is 5-6 and in sixth. Washburn (2-11) and Ashland (2-10) are 12th and 13th respectively, with Katahdin in 14th at 2-11.
For girls, Southern Aroostook is No. 2 and carry a 10-2 mark. Deer Isle-Stonington is undefeated at 11-0 and hold the top ranking. Washburn (5-7) and Ashland (5-6) are sixth and seventh, respectively. Katahdin is in eighth place with its 6-7 record. Both East Grand (0-9) and Easton (0-13) are winless and tied with 0-11 Machias for last place.
Only the top 10 teams in D move on to the playoffs. The top six gain byes straight into the quarterfinal round of the tourney and placing seventh or eighth translates into a home prelim contest.
Summaries of games played Jan. 14-19 are as follows:
Girls
Presque Isle 56, Foxcroft Academy 53 — Molly Kingsbury connected on all eight of her free throws, including some key ones down the stretch, as the Wildcats defeated the Ponies Saturday in Dover-Foxcroft. The hosts came all the way back from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to tie the game before PI hit some late foul shots. Maggie Castonguay led the winning offense with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. Madison Michaud and Kingsbury added 14 and 10, respectively.
Caribou 29, Orono 28 — Taylor LaBreck’s field goal with 14 seconds left was the winning basket as the Vikings defeated the Red Riots in Caribou Saturday. The Vikings welcomed back Paige Espling, playing her first game of the season while returning from a major knee injury. She scored six points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Shead 54, Fort Fairfield 46 — Shead lost the first meeting between the teams back in December, but bounced back Saturday in the contest played at Eastport. Brenna LeVasseur and Camryn Ala tallied nine points each for Fort Fairfield, which was outscored 21-11 in the final quarter.
Central Aroostook 67, Washburn 38 — The Panthers won their 12th consecutive game Saturday as Maci Beals had 14 points, Breann Bradbury 12 and Annika Nicholas 10. Kassandra Farley scored 17 points and Emma Johnston 13 in the loss.
Fort Kent 61, Ashland 25 — The Warriors prevailed in Friday’s contest played in Ashland. Olivia Tardie’s six points led the Hornets.
Wisdom 54, East Grand 40 — At St. Agatha Friday, Emma Chamberland led the Pioneers with 15 points. For East Grand, Mallory Gilman scored 17, Jordyn Cowger added 13 and Natalie Golding had eight.
Katahdin 47, Van Buren 35 — At Van Buren Friday, Danielle Libby had 13 points and Lilly Cullins added seven as the Cougars beat Van Buren. Leah Gendreau had 14 for the Crusaders.
Houlton 54, Hodgdon 44 — At Houlton Friday, Mia Henderson netted 13 points, while Rebecca Howe added 11 and Olivia Henderson had seven. For Hodgdon, Sabra Scott and Kylie Mooers both had 10 points and Lauren McGillicuddy had nine.
Southern Aroostook 57, Easton 14 — At Easton Thursday, the Warriors’ Sydney Brewer scored 18 points to lead her team past the Bears. Cecilia Morin scored seven points for Easton.
Central Aroostook 50, Fort Fairfield 44 — The Panthers defeated the Tigers for the second time this week as Kate Levesque drilled five 3-point field goals to lead the charge. This game was played Thursday in Fort Fairfield. Amber Sherwood tallied 20 points for the Tigers.
Presque Isle 55, Houlton 52 (OT) — Rebecca Rider and Madison Michaud each nailed three free throws during the four-minute overtime period, lifting the Wildcats to the win at Houlton Jan. 16. Faith Sjoberg nailed five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points and Maggie Castonguay totaled 14 for the winners. Mia Henderson scored 16 for the Shires and Abbie Worthley netted 13.
Hodgdon 42, Washburn 30 — Sabra Scott and Kylee Mooers each scored 13 points to lift the host Hawks to the win Jan. 16. Kassie Farley had 14 to lead the Beavers.
Ashland 30, Wisdom 25 — At Ashland on Jan. 16, the Hornets completed a sweep over the Pioneers as Shelby Stolze helped her team dig out of a 10-2 hole by scoring seven of her game-high 10 points in the second period. Olivia Tardie finished with eight points for the Hornets.
Katahdin 58, Easton 33 — At Stacyville Jan. 16, M. Landry paced Katahdin with 16 points, while H. Landry and Emily Beyer each had 10 and Hannah Kyllonen added eight. For Easton, Cecilia Morin had 14 points.
Katahdin 58, East Grand 35 — At Danforth Jan. 15, Danielle Libby had 17 points, Haley Landry added 11 and Maddie Landry chipped in eight for the Cougars. Mallory Gilman led East Grand with 18 points.
Ashland 42, Wisdom 35 — On Jan. 14 in St. Agatha, the Hornets came out on top behind Olivia Tardie’s 14 points and 10 rebounds, with Stolze adding 12 points to the cause.
Houlton 53, Caribou 47 (OT) — Viking senior Alexis Rodriguez forced overtime with her conventional 3-point play that came with 1.5 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, but the Shires controlled play in the extra session to come out on top in the Jan. 14 home game. Olivia Henderson scored 15 points and Kennedy Buzzeo had 13 for Houlton. Kimmy Susi netted 11 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, to help Caribou come back from a large deficit in the second half.
Hodgdon 54, Easton 21 — Kora Lambert scored 22 points and Kylee Mooers added 16 as the Hawks won at home over the Bears Jan. 14. Lydia Ferris led Easton with 12 points.
Washburn 43, Van Buren 17 — Behind Kassandra Farley’s 13 points and 11 more from Emma Johnston, the Beavers rolled at home Jan. 14.
Boys
Presque Isle 66, Foxcroft Academy 44 — The Wildcats took control in the second quarter and captured an important road win Saturday in Dover-Foxcroft. Trace Cyr had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jonah Hudson 14 points and five assists and Jason Dumais 13 points and 11 boards to lead the attack. PI held a 45-17 rebounding advantage in the game and the Ponies’ top scorer, Hyatt Smith, was limited to 11 points.
Houlton 85, Southern Aroostook 46 — At Houlton Saturday, the Shires dominated the visiting Warriors. Individual results were not reported.
Caribou’s Sawyer Deprey (30) and Isaac Marker (24), and Houlton’s Nick Brewer all reach for the loose ball during rebounding action Tuesday night in Houlton. The Vikings rallied to beat Houlton 72-65. (Joseph Cyr)
Caribou 84, Orono 60 — The Vikings outscored the Red Riots 29-10 in the third quarter to win their seventh consecutive game. The final 30 seconds of the period included an Isaac Marker dunk on a breakaway, a putback by Parker Deprey and a buzzer-beating heave from the opposite foul line by Alex Bouchard. Austin Findlen powered Caribou with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Deprey added 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Bouchard and Marker netted 12 points each.
Central Aroostook 86, Washburn 39 — The Panthers’ bench saw plenty of action, with reserve Drew Belmain the high scorer with 18 points, in Saturday’s home triumph. Brayden Bradbury added 15 points for CA, now winners of 12 in a row. Aidan Churchill and Noah White paced the Beavers with eight points each.
Fort Kent 94, Ashland 21 — The Warriors claimed a convincing win at Ashland Friday by jumping out to a 31-5 lead after the first quarter. Jesse Wortman paced Ashland with eight points.
Central Aroostook 79, Fort Fairfield 43 — The Panthers came up with the home win Friday behind Ethan Pryor’s 21-point performance. Brayden Bradbury and Josh Thomas each scored 11 points. Dawson Watson netted 17 for the Tigers.
Presque Isle 53, Houlton 50 — The Wildcats trailed by nine points in the third quarter, but stormed back to defeat the Shiretowners at home Thursday. Jonah Hudson poured in 25 points and Caleb Wheaton added 13 for PI. Keegan Gentle netted 27 points for Houlton.
Hodgdon 58, Washburn 47 — The Hawks had three players score in double figures, led by Josh Foster’s 18-point performance, in a home victory over the Beavers Thursday. Patrick Saucier exploded for a career-high 27 points for Washburn.
Easton 51, Hodgdon 41 — The Bears captured the Jan. 15 road contest behind Austin Carver and Camden Michaud, who netted 17 and 15 points, respectively. Josh Foster scored 24 to pace the Hawks.
Central Aroostook 73, GHCA 70 (OT) — Ben Thomas poured in 35 points, including the 1,000th of his career, as the Panthers held off a late charge by the Eagles in Mars Hill Jan. 15. The Eagles trailed by 21 points entering the fourth quarter and came all the way back to force overtime. For GHCA, Parker Brewer had 20 points, while Isaac Potter added 16, Will Austin 12 and Cole Winslow 11.
Fort Fairfield 66, Washburn 43 — The Tigers took the Jan. 15 game in Washburn. Individual scorers were not reported.
Caribou 72, Houlton 65 — The Vikings trailed by 23 points in the third quarter before storming back to take the Jan. 15 game played in Houlton. Isaac Marker scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth period. Parker Deprey had 22 and Alex Bouchard 14 for the Vikings. Keegan Gentle led the Shires with 31 points.
Van Buren 38, Washburn 33 — The Crusaders defeated the Beavers for the second time this season, this time in Washburn Jan. 14, as Luc Perreault put in 16 points to lead the way. Zakk Tracy and Patrick Saucier scored six each for Washburn.
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- Caribou’s Sawyer Deprey, left, comes down with the ball Monday as teammate Parker Deprey looks on. Defending for Houlton is Ben Grant. Caribou beat the Shires 72-65. (Joseph Cyr)
