High school basketball enters homestretch

The modified varsity high school basketball season is rapidly coming to a close as local teams are busy jockeying for key playoff spots.

A regional playoff will tentatively take place at the conclusion of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27. Similar to the regional soccer format, teams will be broken up into two groups, Large School (Classes B and C) and Small School (Class D).

The standings for Class D boys, as of Monday, Feb. 22, were: 1, Van Buren, 8-1; 2, Easton, 6-2; 3, Southern Aroostook, 6-3; 4, Washburn, 3-3; 5, Wisdom, 1-2; 6, Katahdin, 2-7; and 7, Ashland, 0-10.

The standings for Class D girls were: 1, Wisdom, 5-0; 2, Southern Aroostook, 9-1; 3, Katahdin, 6-2; 4, Washburn, 4-3; 5, Ashland, 3-6; 6, Van Buren, 2-7; and 7, Easton, 0-9.

The standings for Class B-C boys were: 1, Caribou, 9-0; 2 (tie) Central Aroostook and Presque Isle, both 6-3; 4, Houlton, 6-4; 5, Hodgdon, 3-5; 6, Fort Fairfield, 2-8; 7, Madawaska, 1-4; and 8, Fort Kent, 0-3.

The standings for Class B-C girls were: 1, Presque Isle, 8-0; 2, Houlton, 7-3; 3, Fort Fairfield, 5-5; 4 (tie), Central Aroostook and Hodgdon, both 4-5; 6, Fort Kent, 0-2; and 7, Caribou, 0-10.

The following is a recap of games played through Saturday that were reported to the newspaper.

Hodgdon boys 51, Katahdin 43 — At Stacyville Saturday, Feb. 20, Hodgdon’s Walker Oliver tossed in 17 points to lead all players as the visiting Hawks beat Katahdin. Drew Duttweiler and Troy Hipsley both added 11 points, while Caleb Nash had seven and Damien Harris had five.

For Katahdin, Kyle McNally and Justin Hurlburt each had 13 points, while Grady Ritchie added 10 points, Kadin McNally had five and Daquan Lindsay added two.

Hodgdon led 13-8 in the first quarter, but Katahdin seized a 24-20 lead heading into the halftime break. The Hawks emerged more determined after the break, holding Katahdin to just four points to regain the lead, 35-28.

Hodgdon girls 48, Katahdin 37 — At Hodgdon Friday, Feb. 19, the host-Hawks soared to a big win over visiting Katahdin. It marked just the second loss for the Cougars on the season. 

Katahdin led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter, but the Hawks surged for a 26-21 lead at the half. That lead grew to 39-28 after three quarters.

Marissa Dow led the Hawks with 13 points, while Kylee Mooers added 12; Anna Oliver, 10; Sabra Scott, six; Sadie Thompson, three; and Emma Drew and Aleyah Matheson each had two.

For the Cougars, Makayla Hartsgrove had 12 points; Hunter Hartsgrove added 10; Emily Beyer, four; Emma McNally and Shelby Libby, both two; and Maizy Cullen, one.

Washburn boys 47, Katahdin 41 — At Stacyville Thursday, Feb. 18, Washburn edged out the host Cougars by six points.

The Beavers were led by Devin Dionne with 14 points, followed by Ben Turner and Aidan Churchill, both with 10. Katahdin was paced by Wesley Richardson and Kyle McNally with 10 points each.

Houlton girls 45, Caribou 36 — At Caribou Wednesday, Feb. 17, the visiting Shires picked up the nine-point win over Caribou. Houlton led 8-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Caribou grabbed an 18-17 lead at the halftime break. The Shires picked up the tempo in the second half, regaining the lead 33-23 after three quarters and never looked back.

Mia Henderson led the Shires with 17 points, followed by Olivia Henderson with 11; Drew Warman, six; Bre Barton,  five; and Emma Ardell, Morgan Graham and Sam Johnson, each with two. 

For Caribou, Selena Savage had 14 points, followed by Sage Dubay and Ashlyn Bouchard, both with six; and Gabrielle Sutherland and Emily Collins, both with five.

Easton boys 44, Katahdin 43 —  Hosting Easton Feb. 12, the visiting Bears squeezed past Katahdin by one point. Easton was led by Camden Michaud with 18 points and Austin Carver with 10.  Katahdin was paced by Grady Ritchie with 15 points and Wesley Richardson 12.