Williams hits game-winner against GHCA; Shires defeat Hawks

15 years ago

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer

    There were plenty of points on the line last weekend for the Hodgdon Hawks, as they played Greater Houlton Christian Academy, No. 5 in Class D, and the Class C Houlton Shiretowners.
    Last Friday night in Hodgdon, the game came down to the wire between the Eagles and Hawks, with their shooters deciding the fate.
ImageLEADERS – Chris Williams of Hodgdon drives to the basket against Houlton’s Jordan Bragan, who has returned from a foot injury. Williams hit the game-winner against GHCA last Friday night and tried desperately  to help the Hawks in the late minutes of Saturday’s game in Houlton.
    “That was one of our best games so far, defensively and offensively,” said Hodgdon coach Jerry Adams. “I thought the kids stood up to the challenge of handling a really close game. I think there were six lead changes in the game and I now know they can handle pressure.”
    The Eagles held a one-point opening lead, 13-12, only to see the score knotted at 30-all at intermission and 48-all at the end of three. But, in the final period, the Eagles opened the game up by a few points, but the Hawks battled back to within a basket.
    With time running out, the Hawks designed the play to put the ball in senior guard Chris Williams’ hands.
    “Once again, Chris rises to the occasion,” said Adams. “He is one of the leading offensive players in Eastern Maine.”
    Williams set up for a shot, it missed, Daniel McGillicuddy grabbed the rebound, shuffled it to Williams, who drained an off-balanced 3-pointer with two seconds left to give the Hawks a 68-67 lead.
    The Eagles called a timeout, and on the ensuing play, sharp-shooting guard Chad Duff drove down and released the ball, which fell off the side of the rim as time expired.
    The win over the Eagles moved Hodgdon into seventh place in Class C.
    “I thought the difference in the ball game was the McGillicuddy boys came to play basketball, especially Daniel,” said Adams. “When they come to play, we can beat any team on our schedule.”
    Williams finished the game with 22 points, while Dan McGillicuddy scored 21 points and hauled down 19 rebounds, while Josh Hudson connected for 13 points.
    Duff matched Williams’performance with 22 points of his own, while Micah Wiley tossed in 17, including five 3-pointers, and Ethan Holmes netted 11 for the Eagles.
GHCA-Washburn
    The Eagles pulled out a huge win last Tuesday night in Washburn, beating the Beavers 68-62, avoiding a playoff round.
    Eagle coach Sam Henderson has seen consistent growth in his players and hopes that they continue to grow in confidence as the postseason approaches.
     “We were 9-10 last year, getting blown out by 30 points seven or eight times,” said Henderson. “We are now 10-4 and have been in every game, but one without a home gym, barely a place to practice and always on the road has been a huge adversity.
    “We are working on mental strength and killer instinct every day and we will get there,” he said. “When the boys get there, we will put games away. I am proud of how far these boys have come, and it has been a pleasure to coach each and every one of them. We will continue to improve each day.”
    Wiley finished with 22 points, while Zach Straubel connected for 14 points and Holmes tossed in 12 more.
Hodgdon takes on Houlton
    As for the Hawks, last Saturday in Houlton, they came up short, losing 38-33.
    “They were so flat coming out after a victory over Greater Houlton the night before,” said Adams. “But, I don’t excuse that because good athletes are ready to play each and every night. Where Houlton is one of the biggest rivalries on our schedule, it becomes a pride issue, as well. They should have been up for the basketball game.”
    For Houlton, it was a shot in the arm for their morale.
    “It was a great win for our team,” said Houlton coach Mike Fogarty. “I think when you have cross-town rivalry like Houlton-Hodgdon, you can throw out the records.”
    Coming out in the third, trailing 15-12, the Shires’ pride and full-court pressure wore on the Hawks, creating turnovers, as Houlton outscored Hodgdon, 17-4 for a 29-19 lead.
    “We needed to generate some easy offense,” said Fogarty. “We were able to do that off our defensive pressure.”
    Adams said his Hawks finally made a charge at the end because, “the kids started realizing just how important the game was and they started handling the press a little bit better.”
    The Hawks climbed back in trailing 32-26 with 3:56 left. A couple of good looks down court for open layups by the Shires kept Hodgdon at bay.
    “There is a lot of community support for both teams,” said Fogarty.
    Jordan Bragan made his presence known in the game, leading a balanced scoring attack with 10 points, as Houlton avenged an earlier season loss to the Hawks.
    “It was nice to have Jordan back in the lineup,” Fogarty said. “His foot is still sore, but he didn’t want to miss this game. Just having his presence on the floor is beneficial to the team.”
    Doug Dickison finished with nine points, while Codrey racked up eight points and nine rebounds and Goetsch chipped in with eight points. Woodworth hauled down 10 rebounds in the win, as well.
    Williams paced Hodgdon with 19 points and Dan McGillicuddy added eight.
    On Monday in Houlton, the Shires defeated Fort Kent, 39-20 behind Goetsch’s 11 points and Bragan’s 10 points and Codrey’s 10 rebounds.
ImageImageACTION – Left, GHCA’s Ethan Holmes lays the ball in against Hodgdon’s Dan McGillicuddy, while right, Houlton’s Jordan Codrey works the baseline against Hodgdon twins Dan and Andrew McGillicuddy.
    Last Wednesday, the Shires fell to Presque Isle 49-22. Woodworth paced Houlton with eight points, followed by Codrey with five points.
    The Houlton boys also were defeated 62-36 by host Stearns last Friday night.     Woodworth led Houlton with 13 points, with Goetsch adding eight and Codrey chipping in with six.
Hawks still havae point-worthy opponents left
    The Hawks still have three games left, East Grand tonight and then road games with Central Aroostook on Thursday and Fort Fairfield on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
    “We have two very important point-worthy games,” said Adams. “Winning one of those will guarantee us of hosting a playoff game and staying where we are [7th position in Class C]. If we happen to win two out of the three, I think that we can get into the top six and that would be something.”