The Houlton Basketball Association Men’s League got back into regular season action after a brief break during the holiday season. The regular season of 12 games is currently a third of the way completed, with only one undefeated team.
The Swamp Donkeys were back in action playing against the Sofa Kings, which kept the score close throughout the entire first half. The score stayed even initially, as each team scored on free throws. The Swamp Donkeys were able to extend their lead to as many as nine points through the first 12 minutes of play.
Andrew Savage of the Sofa Kings played very aggressively as the sixth man and was able to help his team close the gap to two points, scoring 12 points of his team-high 18 points in the first half. The halftime score of the contest was 29-25 (Swamp Donkeys), with James Bates carrying his team, scoring with 21 points.
The Sofa Kings fought hard in the second half of action but were unable to cut the deficit, despite hitting three 3-pointers. The Swamp Donkeys shot 100 percent from the charity stripe in the second half sealing the win, as Matt Day scored 11 of his 15 points.
The final score of the game was 61-50, improving the Swamp Donkeys to 3-1 on the season.
Bates led the Swamp Donkeys with a game-high 25 points, three rebounds, two assists; Day 15 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, an assist and block, while Peter Bates hit for 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The Sofa Kings fell to a 1-3 in the early season. They were led by Andrew Savage with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, along with Chad Duff’s 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.
The Scalabrine Squad was able to even their season record to 2-2, and remain in third position in the league rankings after defeating the Monstars, 64-42.
The Squad was able to put three players in double figures, shooting 41 percent from both the field and the foul line, with 80 percent of the entire team scoring throughout the game. The Squad pulled down a season high 52 total rebounds also.
Matt Drake kept the Monstars within striking range by hitting three 3-pointers in the first half of action. Despite the halftime score of 30-19, the differential was back and forth with several offensive runs by each team. The Squad outscored the Monstars, 34-22, in the second half and continually extended their lead, to as high as 27 points at one point.
The Scalabrine Squad were once again led by Emery Lincoln with 15 points, 10 rebounds, one steal, an assist, and block; Patrick Goodall 13 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a steal; and Jason Little 12 points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists.
The Monstars dropped to 0-4 on the season, despite being led by Drake with 12 points, seven rebounds, a block and assist; and Alex Donovan with 11 points, five rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
