Lots of action on the hardwood

Washburn sweeps Academy
    Monday night’s game between the Greater Houlton Christian Academy and Washburn     boys went down to the wire, with the Beavers pulling out a 53-50 victory.
HIGH-FLYING – Hodgdon’s Chris Williams takes the ball strong to the basket, as Southern Aroostook’s Tyler Robinson attempts to block the shot during last Thursday’s game in Hodgdon. The Hawks won 52-51 with Jake Tidd’s offensive putback with 1.8 seconds left in overtime.
   The Beavers started with a 12-6 lead, but at halftime, the Eagles had turned the tide, taking a 23-17 halftime advantage. The Beavers stormed back in the third, outscoring GHCA 24-13 for a 41-36 lead, holding GHCA off in the final period.
    Chad Duff led GHCA with 14 points, while Zach Straubel tossed in 13 and Micah Wiley added a dozen.
    In the opening game, Washburn overtook the GHCA Lady Eagles, 44-30.
    After taking a 17-4 opening-quarter lead, the Lady Beavers held a 27-15 advantage at intermission. Washburn kept GHCA at bay through the third, 35-25 en route to the win.
    Kasi Parker finished with 17 points for the Academy.
Cougars, Warriors, Hawks competitive
Courtesy of Abigail Hunt/Star Herald
BATTLES – GHCA’s Ted Bowers wrestles for the ball against Washburn’s Connor Fitzpatrick, son of Louie (formerly of Houlton) and Cherri Fitzpatrick. The Beavers defeated the Eagles last Monday at UM-Presque Isle.
    In Stacyville, the Katahdin Cougars overtook the visiting Hodgdon Hawks, 60-52.
    At halftime, the Cougars held a 27-17 lead and extended it over the third, 49-36. Brandon Robinson led Katahdin with 17 points, while Ethan Qualey tossed in 15 and Evan McCarthy chipped in with 14 more.
    For Hodgdon, Chris Williams netted a game-high 19 points and Dan McGillicuddy dropped in 10 points.
    In the teams’ first meeting of the week, the Cougars overcame Hodgdon, 73-46.
    Katahdin took a 10-point halftime lead and pushed it to 52-38 over three periods, rolling to the win.
    Robinson had a game-high 20 points, while McCarthy tossed in 15 and McAvoy added 14 more.
    For Hodgdon, Dan McGillicuddy had 19 points and Andrew McGillicuddy chipped in with 11 more.
    The Cougars went head-to-head last Saturday with the visiting Southern Aroostook Warriors. Katahdin watched their 13-10 first-quarter lead turn to a 29-28 halftime deficit. With Warriors leading 43-42 to start the fourth, the Cougars rallied for a 63-53 win.
    Robinson led Katahdin’s offense with 17 points, while McCarthy had 15 points and Matt McAvoy scored 13 for the winners.
    SACS’ Dakota Sleeper poured in 30 points.
    Last Saturday in Mars Hill, the Hawks fell prey to the CAHS Panthers, 68-33.
    The Panthers behind Manny Martinez (20 points) held a 33-14 halftime cushion over the Hawks. CAHS extended their lead in the third, 45-24 en route to victory.
    Caleb Kelley added 17 points for the winners, while Dan McGillicuddy led Hodgdon with 17 points.
    The Hawks fell to host Washburn last Friday, 71-54.
    The Beavers led 27-21 at halftime, but outscored Hodgdon, 23-11 over the third for a 50-33 lead en route to the win.
    The McGillicuddy brothers finished the night with a combined total of 31 points, as Andrew scored 20 and Dan added 11.
    The Hawks and Southern Aroostook Warriors went into overtime last Thursday night before a winner was decided.
LAYUP – Southern Aroostook’s Janel Rockwell goes up for a layup against Hodgdon’s Chelsea Sloat during last Friday’s game at Hodgdon. The Lady Warriors won, 55-32.
    The Hawks opened up the game with an 8-0 lead, but the Warriors came back to tie the game at 19-all with 1:16 to intermission. The Hawks and Warriors went back and forth in the third, with Hodgdon holding a 30-29 lead going into the final period.
    With five minutes to go, the Hawks were ahead 39-35 and over a minute later, they were still ahead, 41-37. But, the Warriors came back behind point guard Dakota Sleeper to tie the game at 43-all with 1:57 left. That wasn’t the only big blow to Hodgdon. Their rugged post player, Dan McGillicuddy had fouled out, and brother Andrew was in foul trouble, as well.
    As Sleeper took over for the Warriors, matching his play was Hodgdon point guard Chris Williams. The two went head-to-head. With the Hawks holding a two-point lead, Sleeper connected for a shot to tie the game, sending it into overtime.
    The guards work didn’t quit in the extra period, as both Sleeper and Williams took charge. With time running out, Williams dribbled around several SACS defenders and drove to the basket, coming up short on his shot. But, in the right position, at the right time, Jake Tidd — hit his only shot of the game — corralling the ball and muscled his way back up, laying the ball off the glass with 1.8 seconds left to lift Hodgdon to a 52-51 victory.
    Sleeper finished the game with 28 points for SACS, while Williams tossed in 24 points and had five steals and Dan McGillicuddy, who fouled out with a minute left in the fourth, finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
    The Warriors powered by host East Grand last Tuesday, 76-46.
    Southern Aroostook jumped to a 36-22 halftime lead and extended it over three, 59-33 en route to the win.
    Sleeper tossed in 20 points for the Warriors, while Cody Robinson netted 17 and Tyler Robinson added 16 more. For East Grand, Kaleb Dicker had 13 points, Seth Cropley a dozen and Abe Brittain chipped in with 10. Dave Cropley grabbed 21 rebounds.
Lady Warriors win;
Lady Hawks fall
    The Hodgdon Lady Hawks lost twice this week, as they were overpowered by Southern Aroostook, 55-32 last Friday night in Hodgdon.
    The game started slow, but the Lady Warriors built a 26-17 cushion at halftime and extended their lead over three, 37-22.
    Liz Goodall paced SACS with 26 points, while Taylor Hovey led Hodgdon with 11 points and Katie Duff added 10 more.
    The Southern Aroostook Lady Warriors overpowered host Easton, 52-17 on Saturday.
    The Lady Warriors led 32-8 at halftime and cruised to the win, as Shelby Hartin tossed in 13 points and Mataya Ryan added 10 more.
    Last Wednesday, the Lady Hawks couldn’t generate any offense, as the Fort Fairfield Tigers remained undefeated, 9-0, with a 54-31 win at Hodgdon.
Courtesy of Abigail Hunt/Star Herald
REBOUND – GHCA’s Selena Michaud ties the ball up against Washburn during Monday night’s game at UMPI. Kasi Parker moves in on the action for the Lady Eagles.
    The Lady Hawks were plagued by turnovers, falling behind 27-14 at intermission. They couldn’t recover in the third, as Fort Fairfield pulled away 41-19.
    Hovey led Hodgdon with nine points.
Lady Shires 1-1 on week
    The Houlton Lady Shires edged host Madawaska, 46-43 last Friday night.
    The Owls led through the first half of play, 23-20 and after three, the Lady Shires had cut the lead to one, 35-34. In the decisive final period, the Lady Shires outscored the Owls, 12-8 for the win. Desiree Dow led Houlton with 15 points, while Vanessa Sanderson added 14 more.
    The Caribou Lady Vikings overcame the visiting Lady Shires last Wednesday, 45-38.
    The Vikings led 20-17 at halftime and then outscored Houlton, 14-7 in the third to post the win.
    Sanderson led Houlton with 14 points.
Shead overpowers Vikings
    Last Saturday, the East Grand Vikings fell to Shead, 80-51. But, the Vikings celebrated, as senior Kaleb Dicker posted 28 points, including his 1,000th high school career point.
    The Vikes fell behind 23-9 to start the game and trailed at halftime, 46-23, as the Tigers rolled.
    David Cropley added 13 points and hauled down 14 rebounds for the Vikes, as well.
    In girls’ action, the Lady Vikings were overtaken 49-37 by Shead.
    The Lady Tigers led 27-17 at halftime and 34-20 over three periods en route to the win.
    Kelsey Daoust led East Grand with a game-high 25 points.