The Central Aroostook Panthers girls and boys teams have pretty much guaranteed gaining the top two seeds in their respective Class C divisions heading into the North regional basketball playoffs, and both have a chance of retaining the top spots they currently hold.
The CA girls were 14-3 heading into Monday’s finale at home against Van Buren. They are currently first in Class C, ahead of PVHS, Madawaska, Dexter and Calais. If Calais can get by Narraguagus Wednesday, the Blue Devils will make a strong bid for the top ranking.
The No. 1 Panther boys hold a 15-2 mark and finish up at home Wednesday against Fort Kent. They hold a fairly comfortable lead over No. 2 Houlton, No. 3 Mattanawcook Academy and No. 4 George Stevens Academy, but MA and GSA square off Tuesday and the winner will make a sizable bump in the Heal Point standings and could catch the Panthers if they lose to the Warriors.
The defending state champion Southern Aroostook girls own the top ranking in Class D, well ahead of second-place Deer-Isle Stonington and third-place Woodland, and should keep that No. 1 position when the standings become official, regardless of the outcome of their final two games. The 14-2 Warriors still have contests remaining against East Grand (Tuesday at home) and Katahdin (Wednesday on the road).
The regular season comes to a close Thursday, with playoff games slated to begin Feb. 12 for girls and Feb. 13 for boys.
Summaries of games played Jan. 28-Feb. 2 are as follows:
Boys
Caribou 64, John Bapst 42 — The Vikings made it 11 regular season wins a row by coming out on top at Memorial Gymnasium on the UM-Orono campus Saturday. Parker Deprey scored 22 points and Alex Bouchard netted 17 for Caribou, while Jagger Cummings had 13 for Bapst.
Hermon 49, Presque Isle 30 — The Wildcats were within four points of the undefeated Hawks early in the third period, but Hermon gained control of Saturday’s game with a strong defensive performance. Kent Johnson’s 16 points and Isaac Varney’s 12 were the Hawks’ top offensive showings. Jonah Hudson netted 11 points and Cole Paterson hit three 3-pointers for nine more to pace PI.
Fort Fairfield 59, Hodgdon 57 — The Tigers edged the Hawks in Fort Fairfield Saturday as Dawson Watson and Colby Langner fired in 23 and 20 points, respectively. Andrew Tuttle had 23 and Josh Foster 13 to lead Hodgdon.
Rhylee Kinney (40) of the Presque Isle Wildcats tries to secure a rebound while sandwiched by Houlton players Amelia Ivey, left, and Sam Johnson during Thursday’s game in Presque Isle. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Mattanawcook Academy 46, Houlton 37 — At Lincoln Saturday, the Lynx avenged an earlier season loss to the Shires with their victory over Houlton. Individual results were not reported.
GHCA 79, Shead 27 — At Hodgdon Saturday, the Eagles picked up their 14th win on the season. Individual results were not reported.
GHCA 79, Wisdom 28 — At St. Agatha Friday, the Eagles soared to an easy win over Wisdom as GHCA led 21-6, 39-12 and 57-17 at the quarter breaks. For the Eagles, Isaac Potter netted 18 points, Austin Winslow added 16, Cole Winslow had 10, Joel Carmichael eight. For Wisdom, Mason Sirois had six, Trevor Couture five anb Evan Gayette four.
Van Buren 53, Ashland 41 — Luc Perreault scored 18 points as the Crusaders topped the Hornets in Van Buren Friday. Drew Doughty’s career-high 14 points were tops for the Hornets.
Central Aroostook 76, Madawaska 48 — The Panthers led by 12 points at halftime and took control from that point on in the easy victory over the Owls Friday in Mars Hill. Four players hit for double figures for the Panthers, with Lane Grass and Ethan Pryor leading the way with 13 each. Ben Thomas had 12 and Josh Thomas 10 in the win.
Washburn 41, Easton 27 — The Beavers outscored the Bears 23-7 in the second half for the upset victory in Easton Thursday. Patrick Saucier scored 11 points and hauled in six rebounds and Steven Nader grabbed 15 rebounds to pace Washburn. Aidan Churchill and Beckam Vaughn both added 10 points and five boards. Camden Michaud’s 10 points led the Bears.
Fort Fairfield 73, Katahdin 31 — Colby Langner scored 20 points to lead the Tigers past the Cougars in Fort Fairfield Thursday. Wyatt Keegan (15 points) and Avery Cormier (12) were the other double-digit scorers for the Tigers. John McNally tallied 13 points for Katahdin.
Southern Aroostook 50, Hodgdon 45 — At Hodgdon Thursday, the Warriors held on for the five-point win over Hodgdon. SA led 12-10 in the first quarter, but Hodgdon knotted the game 25-25 at halftime. The Warriors went back on top 36-33 after three periods. Garrett Siltz led the way for SA with 18 points, while Jacob Brooks added 17 (including 5 3-pointers) and Xavier Morales had six. For Hodgdon, Josh Palmer had 19 points and Andrew Tuttle added 14 while Josh Foster had nine.
Madawaska 67, Ashland 36 — The Owls prevailed in the second meeting of the season against the Hornets, this time on their home floor Jan. 29.
Fort Kent 91, Washburn 27 — The Warriors took the Jan. 29 game in Washburn behind 15 points each from Camden Jandreau and Caleb Delisle. Beckam Vaughn claimed top scoring honors for the Beavers with eight points.
Maggie Castonguay of the Presque Isle Wildcats, center, fights for possession of the ball along with Houlton’s Abbie Worthley, left, and Olivia Henderson during Thursday’s varsity basketball game in Presque Isle. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Central Aroostook 70, Southern Aroostook 54 — The Panthers defeated the Warriors in the Jan. 29 game at Dyer Brook. Brayden Bradbury and Ben Thomas scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, for Central Aroostook. Josh Thomas tallied 14. For Southern Aroostook, Garrett Stilz led the way with 18 points.
Houlton 90, Stearns 37 — At Houlton Jan. 29, the Shires blasted to an early lead and never looked back. Individual results were not reported.
Easton 51, Wisdom 27 — The Bears won in St. Agatha Jan. 28 and swept the season series against the Pioneers. Individual scoring was not reported.
Ashland 54, Katahdin 48 — The Hornets won for just the third time this season Jan. 28, using an 18-11 run in the fourth quarter to take the home game against the Cougars. Gabe Page scored 15 points and Drew Doughty had 12 for Ashland. John McNally netted 17 points and Wesley Richardson chipped in with 11 to lead Katahdin.
GHCA 59, Hodgdon 24 — Isaac Potter poured in 22 points to lead GHCA to victory over Hodgdon, Monday, Jan. 28. Parker Brewer added 10, while Will Austin and Cole Winslow both had nine. For Hodgdon, Dylan Jurson had six points and Andrew Tuttle added five.
Girls
Washburn 61, East Grand 26 — Kassandra Farley poured in 28 points and Raegyn Chavez netted 16 Saturday in the Beavers’ convincing victory at Danforth. Jordyn Cowger’s 16 points led the Vikings.
Caribou 40, John Bapst 32 — The Vikings had three players reach double figures in scoring Saturday for their first road victory of the season held at Memorial Gymnasium on the UM-Orono campus. Taylor LaBreck led the way with 13 points, while Paige Espling and Alexis Rodriguez added 10 each. Lacey Scanlon hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 16 for the Crusaders.
Central Aroostook 58, Fort Kent 31 — The score was knotted at halftime before the Panthers used a strong third quarter, outscoring the hosts 21-5, to defeat the Warriors Saturday. Katie Levesque drained five 3-point field goals for her 15 points and Breann Bradbury also tallied 15 to go along with 11 rebounds. Maci Beals scored 13 points and dished out nine assists. Desirae Hafford scored 15 for Fort Kent.
Presque Isle 37, Hermon 31 — The Hawks held off several charges by the Wildcats in Saturday’s win at Hermon. Cait Tracy paced the winners with 11 points. Maggie Castonguay was in double figures for PI, ending up with 14 points.
Katahdin 59, Ashland 35 — The Cougars beat the Hornets for the second time in five days, this time winning on their home court Saturday. Olivia Tardie scored 13 points and Jamie Poulin had 11 for Ashland. Haley Landry led Katahdin with 26 points.
Ashland 46, Van Buren 26 — The Hornets broke out in front early and bested the Crusaders in Van Buren Friday. Shelby Stolze tallied 12 points and made five steals and Jamie Poulin netted nine points for the winners. Tiffany Morrow led Van Buren with 15 points.
Central Aroostook 55, Madawaska 48 (2OT) — The matchup between two of the top four teams in Class C North needed two overtimes before being decided, and the host Panthers took Friday’s game thanks mostly to their prowess from the foul line. CA hit 9 of its 10 free throws in the overtime sessions, while the Owls were only 2 of 13 in the extra periods during the Panthers’ 55-48 triumph. Ashlee Harris was 7 for 8 and ended with 11 points for the winners, while Kate Levesque nailed five 3-pointers for a game-high 15 points. Breann Bradbury totaled 13 points for CA.
Katahdin 53, Easton 33 — Maddie Landry tossed in 17 points Friday as the Cougars stopped the Bears in Easton. Haley Landry added nine points for Katahdin. Cecilia Morin posted 20 points for the Bears.
Maggie Castonguay receives a pass on her way to the basket during Presque Isle’s home game against Houlton Thursday. The Shiretowners’ Olivia Henderson defends the play. (Courtesy of Terry Sandusky)
Fort Fairfield 57, Katahdin 46 — The Tigers’ Kourtney West tallied a career-high 17 points in Thursday’s home victory over the Cougars. Camryn Ala put in 13 points and Cammi King-DeMerchant added 12 for Fort Fairfield, while freshman Makayla Hartsgrove led Katahdin with 18 points.
Washburn 53, Easton 38 — Beaver senior Kassandra Farley and Easton junior Cecilia Morin both had big offensive games Thursday in Washburn’s home victory. Both had career-high totals in points, with Farley tallying 30 and Morin 27.
Presque Isle 61, Houlton 29 — The Wildcats broke out to a 22-4 lead thanks to six 3-pointers in the first quarter and coasted past the Shires Thursday in Presque Isle. Faith Sjoberg scored a game-high 18 points, all coming on 3-point field goals, while Maggie Castonguay tossed in 13 and Madison Michaud 12 for the winners. Mia Henderson led Houlton with 12 points.
Madawaska 40, Ashland 21 — On Jan. 29 in Madawaska, the Owls used a strong defensive performance to down the Hornets. Jenna Dugal dominated on the offensive end with 24 points and Brianne Thibeault added 12. Jamie Poulin scored seven for Ashland.
Wisdom 45, Easton 25 — The Pioneers bested the Bears in St. Agatha Jan. 28, keeping Easton winless on the season. Individual scoring was not reported.
Katahdin 42, Ashland 38 — Dee Libby nailed four 3-point shots and finished with a game-high 16 points in the Cougars’ victory at Ashland Jan. 28. Makayla Hartsgrove added eight points for Katahdin, while Jamie Poulin led the Hornets with 11 points and Willow Hall chipped in with eight.
Southern Aroostook 49, Central Aroostook 41 — The Warriors avenged an early-season loss to the Panthers by prevailing in Dyer Brook Jan. 28. Sydney Brewer led the winning offense with 16 points and Kacy Daggett netted 11 more. Kate Levesque fired in five 3-point field goals for a team-high 15 points. Ashlee Harris was also in double figures as she posted 10 points.
