PI hoop teams rated No. 1 in ‘B’
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
There are still approximately three weeks remaining in the regular season, but the Presque Isle Wildcats’ girls and boys teams have put themselves atop the field in Eastern Maine Class B.
MICHAEL BOONE of the Wildcats passes the ball to a teammate while being pressured defensively by Caribou’s Cody Herbert (32) and Derek Richardson during last Wednesday’s game.
KRYSTAL KINGSBURY of the Wildcats grabs a rebound against Caribou’s Alexa Massey during last Tuesday’s game at PIHS.
The boys still have eight games remaining and the girls have six, but currently both PI teams are in first place in the Heal Point standings.
The Wildcat boys, following last week’s wins over Caribou and Washington Academy, own a 9-1 record and lead second-place Oceanside by 4.94 tournament index points and third-place Winslow by 7.1.
The Presque Isle girls, who played at Fort Kent last night, are at 11-0 and are 5.2 points up on second-place Oceanside and 17.6 over No. 3 Nokomis.
Last Wednesday, the Wildcat boys needed a big comeback to defeat Caribou. PI trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before 6-8 junior center Bradley Shields took over in the paint after being held to two points before intermission.
Presque Isle went ahead by four after three quarters before coming out on top, 53-45. Shields finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while senior guard Jonah Stephenson also had 17 points. Sophomore guard Ben Nickerson came off the bench to provide some stellar defense and also chipped in with two three-point field goals and totaled eight points.
Dayne Savage scored 16 points and Derek Richardson 13 for the Vikings.
The Wildcats handed Washington Academy a 70-51 loss at home Saturday. PI displayed excellent scoring balance with four players in double figures. Senior forward Tyler Brooks had 23 points and eight rebounds, junior guard Mike Boone had three three-pointers and totaled 13 points, Stephenson contributed 12 points and nine assists and Shields added 10 points and 10 boards.
The Wildcat girls had no trouble picking up two more victories in recent play. In last Tuesday’s 80-22 home win over Caribou, senior guard Megan Ireland scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first quarter, while senior guard Chandler Guerrette tallied 15 points and freshman reserve center Regan Nelson added 10.
On Saturday, Guerrette scored 18, Ireland 15 and Hannah Graham 12 in a 79-34 win over Washington Academy.
Mackenzie Foss scored 18 for the visiting Raiders.
The Washburn girls still lead the way in EM Class D with their 11-0 record. Fort Fairfield, who took on No. 2 Hodgdon in a crucial matchup last night in Fort, was fourth. Easton is 11th, Central Aroostook 13th and Ashland 18th.
The Beavers remained unbeaten following Monday’s 76-42 home win over Greater Houlton Christian Academy. Mackenzie Worcester, a sophomore guard, netted 19 points, while Carmen Bragg had 10 and Carsyn Koch and Laina Mette nine each for Washburn.
Colby Walker’s 14 points paced the Eagles.
Washburn had also beaten Fort Kent last Tuesday, 67-55, with Worcester’s 26 points leading the charge for the winners. Koch scored 16 and Bragg and Nicole Olson had 11 each. Abby Bouchard had a huge game for the Warriors with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
On Friday, the Beavers cruised past Van Buren, 64-34, as Koch and Worcester had 14 points each. Koch also had seven rebounds and Bragg had 10 points and seven assists. Parise Rossignol, VB’s high-scoring junior guard, scored 15 points before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the final period.
Fort Fairfield nipped Fort Kent Saturday, 43-42, as senior guard Sydney Churchill notched 13 second-half points and finished with a game-high 15. Nicole Giberson sparked the Tigers with 10 points. The Tigers were nine points better than Katahdin last Tuesday with the 50-41 win as Jessica Goshorn had 14 points to lead the charge. It was the 200th win as a girls’ coach for Larry Gardner and the 301st of his coaching career.
On Thursday, the Tigers got past Easton, 27-22. Nobody on either team hit for double digits in scoring, but Fort’s Whitney McNamee came the closest with nine
The Central Aroostook boys lead the way in EM ‘D’ at 9-1. Undefeated Washburn is in fourth, while FF is eighth and Easton ninth. The Hornets of Ashland are currently 16th, one slot out of qualifying for a post-season berth.
The Panthers’ big win last week came Jan. 8 at Easton. Trailing for most of the game, CA sophomore guard Chandler Brewer buried a three-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play to put his team in front to stay. Brewer had nine points, with senior forward Steven Decker leading all scorers with 18.
Hunter Turner scored 15 points and Jared Hafford added 14 for the Bears, who fell to 8-2.
CA suffered defeat for the first time this season at the hands of Fort Kent, who came through with a 68-65 home win Thursday. Cody Plourde’s 15 points led the Warriors, while Brewer and Decker each had 18 in the loss.
The Panthers bounced back Friday for a 67-47 win over Ashland. Joe Stiles had 18 points for the winners and Spencer Garrison and Decker added 12 and 11, respectively. Tyler Levesque’s 19 paced the Hornets, who bounced back for a 60-51 victory over East Grand Monday.
Mitchell Worcester hit the 50-point plateau for the second time this season during last Wednesday’s 76-65 triumph over Fort Kent. He scored 50, a Washburn District High School gymnasium record, as the Beavers remained undefeated despite having two key players, sophomore Cameron Bragg and freshman Jarrett Olson, out with injuries.
He also had 18 points, while Noah Caron and Kenny Irving added 10 and nine, respectively, in the Beavers’ 52-38 win at home Friday over Van Buren.
The Fort Fairfield Tigers lost to Katahdin Monday, but on Saturday the team picked up an important 72-65 home win over Fort Kent behind Hunter Beaulieu’s 26 points and seven assists. Andrew Lewis also had a big game for FF with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Plourde had 26 and Charles Nadeau 18 to lead FK.
