The regular season ends Feb. 9, with playoffs starting Feb. 14-15 with preliminary games. The quarterfinals in Bangor begin Feb. 17.
The Houlton boys saw a five-game win streak snapped Saturday with a tough loss at Ellsworth. Houlton (5-4) is currently 10th in Class B North and in the playoff mix. If the Shires hold as the 10 seed, the team would be on the road for a preliminary playoff game at the No. 7 seed (currently Presque Isle, 6-3).
Hodgdon (9-4) is currently third in Class C North and would earn a first-round bye if the season ended today. If the Hawks stay in the third spot, they would face the winner of the No. 6-11 preliminary game (currently Dexter and PCHS).
In Class D, Southern Aroostook remains unbeaten on the year with a 9-0 record, which has the Warriors ranked second in the region. Machias (12-0) is the top-ranked team. Greater Houlton Christian (4-5) is currently 11th, while East Grand (1-11) and Katahdin (1-11) are 14th and 15th respectively.
The following is a recap of games played through Monday.
Easton‚ 56, Hodgdon 57 — At Hodgdon Monday, Easton rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit with a strong fourth quarter, but it was not enough to overtake the Hawks. Hodgdon senior Daden Palmer sank a foul shot with two seconds remaining to give his team the one-point win.
Palmer finished with 23 points for the Hawks, while Kevin McAfee added 14.
Jordan White had 20 points for Easton (7-5), while Jake Flewelling scored 18.
The Hawks led 12-4, 24-15 and 44-36 at the quarter breaks.
East Grand 46, Wisdom 66 — At St. Agatha Monday, Philip Farley scored 15 points for the Vikings in the loss.
Wisdom’s Kodey Cyr led all players with 25 points, while Jack Guerrette netted 20 points and Adam Pelletier added 17.
The two squads were tied at 11-11 at the end of the first quarter, but Wisdom took a 33-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Pioneers led 48-34 after three periods.
Bangor Christian 58, Katahdin 39 — At Stacyville Monday, Katahdin’s Brody Guiggey had 10 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough against the visiting Patriots. Hunter Craig added nine points and John McNally had eight for the Cougars.
For the Patriots, Dean Grass led all scorers with 12 points, while Jon Cormier contributed nine and Josh Palmeter and Christian Boone each had eight.
Bangor Christian led 16-8, 26-15 and 46-24 at the quarter breaks.
Central 54, Houlton 45 — At Houlton Monday, the Shires fell to Central for their second-straight loss. Individual results were not reported.
Limestone-MSSM 31, East Grand 28 — At Danforth Saturday, the Vikings played an evenly matched game with visiting Limestone-MSSM. East Grand (1-10) had a chance to tie the game with seconds remaining, but the shot was off the mark. The two teams split on the season.
Philip Farley led East Grand with 13 points, while Brady McEwen chipped in seven and Josh Jones and Landin Stoddard each had four.
For the Eagles (3-6), Mason Patten had nine points; Matt Martin chipped in eight; Travis Hatfield added six; Trevor Hale and Victory Negron both had three; and Alex Sprague added two.
The two teams were tied 7-7 to end the first quarter, but East Grand led 16-15 at the half. The game was knotted at 25-25 after three stanzas.
Houlton 59, Ellsworth 64 (OT) — At Ellsworth Saturday, the Shires saw a 22-point first-half lead evaporate in the second half as the Eagles tied the game in the fourth quarter, forcing overtime. Houlton held Ellsworth scoreless in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead and was up 22-12 at halftime and 41-22 after three quarters.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Shires (5-3). Houlton was led by Cameron Graham’s 20 points, while Jared Fox and Keegan Gentle chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.
The Eagles (6-4) were led by Bryce Harmon’s 25-point effort. Zach Harris added 14 points and Jared Hamilton had 10.
Penquis 54, Katahdin 45 — At Stacyville. Katahdin led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, but a 25-8 second quarter surge by Penquis resulted in a 31-17 shift at the half. Penquis led 39-29 after three quarters.
Katahdin’s Hunter Craig poured in 18 points to lead all players, while John McNally chipped in 16 for the Cougars (1-9). Charles Artus led the Patriots (3-4) with 14 points while Colin Beckett netted 11 and Clayton Preble 10.
Hodgdon 45, Fort Kent 52 — At Fort Kent Jan. 11, Jacob Daigle led the Warriors with 16 points as Fort Kent rolled past Hodgdon. Caleb Delisle hit five 3-pointers for 15 points for the Warriors (4-4).
For Hodgdon (8-4), Kevin McAfee led the Hawks with 14 points, while Daden Palmer added 12 points and Noah Nash had 11.
“We jumped to a 9-0 lead early in the first quarter and then Fort Kent went on a 13-3 run to end the quarter,” Hodgdon coach Rob Smith said. “They started to hit [3-pointers] and we did not close out on them well and gave them good looks.”
In the second half, the Hawks allowed only six baskets from the field, but could not capitalize on the offensive end.
“Our third game in as many days may have proved costly,” coach Smith said. “We have had some kids battling wear and tear and minor injuries over the last week. With our legs not being as fresh, we left a lot of shots short. In the end we fouled the right players to prolong the game but could not take advantage of it over the last minute.”
Fort Kent led 13-12, 31-23 and 42-37 at the quarter breaks.
Ashland 56, East Grand 41 — At Danforth, Jan. 10, the Vikings fell to 1-8 on the season with the loss to Ashland. Brady McEwen led East Grand with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Katahdin 37, Southern Aroostook 70 — At Dyer Brook Jan. 10, Nolan Altvater tossed in 27 points as Southern Aroostook defeated Katahdin. SACS’ Jackson Mathers chipped in 23 points in the winning effort for the Warriors.
Hunter Craig led the Cougars with 14 points.
SACS led 18-16, 40-20 and 60-32 at the quarter breaks.
GHCA 37, Hodgdon 57 — At Hodgdon Jan. 10, Noah Nash and Kevin McAfee had 13 points apiece to lead Hodgdon (8-3) past Greater Houlton Christian Academy. Daden Palmer added seven points, Wyatt Foster had six and Andrew Tuttle, Devin Ramsey and Josh Palmer each had five.
For GHCA (4-5), Austin Winslow and Jed Grant paced the Eagles with 10 points each, while Cole Winslow added eight and Isaac Potter had five.
GHCA led 12-11 in the first quarter, but Hodgdon went up 27-19 at halftime and led 41-27 after three periods.
