With squads now well into the second half of the season, several teams are starting to see some separation in the Maine Principals’ Association Heal Points Standings.
Houlton has played tough in a number of games, but has had difficulty seeing those efforts translate into wins. The Shires (1-10, 4.6296 points) are ranked 14th in the Class B North region as of Tuesday morning. The top 12 teams make the postseason. If Houlton could string together a couple of wins over the next few weeks, it could go a long way into getting the team into the hunt.
Hodgdon (7-3, 24.6914) is sixth in the Class C North region. The top three seeds earn a bye for the postseason. If the Hawks remain in sixth place, they would host a preliminary playoff against the No. 11 seed, currently Penobscot Valley High School (6-4).
In Class D North, Southern Aroostook (7-3, 32.7160) is second, while East Grand/GHCA (3-7, 9.1975) is seventh and Katahdin (2-7, 2.7160) is 12th. The top 10 squads qualify for the playoffs, with the top six teams earning a bye directly to Bangor. If East Grand stays in seventh, it would host a preliminary game against the No. 10 seed, currently Wisdom (3-5).
The regular season comes to an end on Feb. 8. The playoffs begin on Feb. 10.
So. Aroostook 68, East Grand/GHCA 40 — At Danforth Monday, the Warriors cruised to 68-40 victory over the East Grand/GHCA. Individual game results were not reported to the newspaper.
Katahdin 33, Bangor Christian 52 — At Bangor Monday, Dean Grass scored a season-high 29 points to help Bangor Christian record the victory. Jon Cormier chipped in with 10 points and 12 rebounds for BC. Austin Keib and Christian Boone each added five points.
Devin McGraw paced the Cougars of Stacyville with 12 points and Tyson Porter added 11.
The two squads were tied 14-14 at the end of one quarter, and 21-21 at halftime before BC took a 39-26 lead after three periods.
East Grand/GHCA 40, Limestone 44 — At Limestone Saturday, the Eagles built a 10-point lead going into the half and held on to defeat East Grand/Greater Houlton Christian Academy. Leading the way for the Eagles was Alex Sprague with 16 points. Bret Morgan, Victor Negron and Mason Patten each added seven points. Limestone went 7 for 8 from the FT line in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
Thomas Gilman led the Vikings with 12 points and Isaac Potter added nine.
Ellsworth 67, Houlton 40 — At Houlton Saturday, the visiting Eagles used a balanced scoring attack to take down the Shires. Bruce St. Peter scored 12 points to lead Ellsworth, while Bryce Harmon added 10 and Kyle Golding and Zach Harris each chipped in nine points.
For Houlton, sophomore Cameron Cleary led the way with 10 points, while senior Garrett Ring had seven. Sophomore Nick Perfett and freshman Nick Brewer both added six.
Ellsworth led 12-2, 30-17 and 45-29 at the quarter breaks.
PVHS 42, Katahdin 41 — At Stacyville Friday, the Howlers held off a furious late rally by Katahdin, which saw the Cougars outscore the visitors 9-6 in the final period. Grant Kidon tallied 14 points and Jarrett Priest added 10 as Penobscot Valley nipped Katahdin.
Brody Guiggey led the Cougars with 11 points and Tyson Porter had nine for the Cougars, who drop to 2 -7. The Howlers improve to 5-4.
PVHS led 12-6, 29-18 and 36-32 at the quarter breaks.
So. Aroostook 43, Easton 66 — At Easton Thursday, the Bears avenged an earlier season loss to Southern Aroostook with a big home victory. Individual scoring was not reported.
Hodgdon 66, Wisdom 41 — At St. Agatha Jan. 6, senior Jimmy Buzzell poured in 29 points to lead the Hawks past the Pioneers. Senior Dana Brown and junior Daden Palmer chipped in eight points each.
Jack Guerrette paced Wisdom with 21 points and Adam Pelletier added 10.
Hodgdon led 18-8, 36-21 and 55-29 at the quarter breaks.
Mattanawcook Academy 54, Houlton 53 — At Houlton Jan. 5, Alex Brown converted a 3-point play with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation to lead Mattanawcook Academy over the Shires. Logan Thompson scored 17 points to pace the Lynx to their first win. Carter Ward chipped in nine points.
For Houlton, senior Garrett Ring scored a game-high 20 points, while senior Jacob Brown chipped in 17.
The Lynx led 11-8 in the first quarter, but the Shires rallied to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime and took a 38-35 lead after three quarters.
