HOULTON, Maine — On a night when heavy rain poured across the region, it was raining 3-pointers inside the high school gym as the Houlton and Central Aroostook boys basketball teams met on the hardwood.
The two squads combined to drain 11 3-pointers on the evening as Houlton picked up an impressive 75-59 victory over Central Aroostook Thursday evening.
Despite the loss, the Panthers (13-2) retained the top seed in Class C North in Friday’s Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points standings. Both of the Panthers losses on the season are to Houlton.
The Shires (11-3) moved into second place with the victory, leapfrogging over Mattanawcook Academy (10-1). Houlton hosts MA Friday evening.
Houlton’s Keegan Gentle rips down a rebound during Thursday night’s boys basketball game against Central Aroostook. Houlton beat Central Aroostook 75-59. (Joseph Cyr)
In Thursday’s game, Houlton scored early and often jumping to a 7-0 lead in the first few minutes of action against the visiting Panthers of Mars Hill. Houlton took a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and that lead grew to 36-19 by halftime. For much of the third quarter, Houlton maintained a 20-point lead.
Keegan Gentle finished with 22 points to pace Houlton, while Nick Brewer added 14 and Nolan Porter had 12 (all from behind the 3-point arc).
CA’s Ben Thomas led all players with 25 points, despite being held to just four points in the first half. Jacob Carvell chipped in 13 points for the Panthers.
Central Aroostook converted 17-of-27 free throws (63 percent), while Houlton went 8-for-15 from the line (53 percent), with the majority of those foul shots happening in the fourth quarter as CA tried to stop the clock.
