By Joseph Cyr, Special to The County
HOULTON, Maine – The Houlton boys basketball team has endured a number of tough losses so far this season. But none were likely as difficult as Saturday afternoon’s contest with visiting Bucksport.
With 1.7 seconds left in overtime, Bucksport’s Caden Blackwood collected a full-court, in-bounds pass and tipped it in at the buzzer as the Golden Bucks defeated Houlton, 54-52.
Blackwood finished with 16 points for the Golden Bucks. Collin McDougal also tallied 16 points, while Trent Goss chipped in with 10; Evan Donnell added six; and Connor Fitch, Jake Williams and Kamryn Webber each had two.
For Houlton, Thadon Gentle led all players with 21 points, including five from beyond the 3-point arc. Bronson Hanning chipped in 14 points for the Shires, while Isaiah Ervin added six; Brandon Barton and Zach Ervin both had five; and Mike Conley had one.
Wins have been hard to come by for the Shires this season, as the team now sits with a 2-6 record.
“Our issue right now is that a couple of kids seem lost every time we are out there,” Houlton coach Travis Gentle said. “We have to get better at knowing what is going on and what the situation is. I should not have to call a timeout to go over the basic stuff.”
Saturday’s game was one of ebbs and flows for the Shires. Houlton overcame a sluggish start, which saw Bucksport jump to an early eight-point lead (12-4), but the Shires then went on a 8-2 run to close out the first frame trailing by just a basket (14-12).
The two squads traded baskets for much of the second quarter, with the lead changing hands four times. Bucksport managed to take a 27-24 lead into the halftime break.
Houlton came roaring to life in the third quarter, thanks to Hanning’s eight-point effort, as the team enjoyed its largest lead of the contest (37-31) midway through the frame. Houlton finished the third quarter on top 39-35.
In the final frame of regulation, Bucksport scored the first 10 points of the quarter to take a solid 45-39 lead and then began employing a tactic of successfully passing the ball around the perimeter to run down the clock.
The Shires, however, refused to go quietly and managed to tie the game at 47-47 on a nifty baseline move by Isaiah Ervin with 7.4 seconds to go. Houlton had an opportunity to end the game in regulation, but a pair of missed free throws sent the game to overtime.
Finding just the right mixture of offensive output will be the biggest focus in the second half of the season, according to Houlton’s coach.
“We need guys to step up offensively,” the coach said. “I would rather have four guys score 10 (points) a game, than one guy score 40. That way teams can’t key on just one guy.”
