Hoop season tips off in style
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
It’s two up and two down for both Easton basketball teams. The Bears opened at home against Wisdom Friday and followed that up with a road trip to Danforth Saturday afternoon, and the girls and boys are now 2-0 entering their games at Limestone today, with the girls tipping off against the Eagles at 5:30 p.m. and the boys’ game set to begin at 7 p.m.
EASTON’S Hannah Ferris takes the ball strong to the basket,
past Wisdom defender Jayme Cyr, during Friday’s regular-season opener. Ferris scored a team-high 13 points in the Bears’ 44-24 victory.
The Easton girls managed a 44-24 win over the Pioneers and a 50-29 victory over the East Grand Vikings. Easton coach Rachel Tomlinson said despite the lopsided winning margins, both opponents were much improved from last season.
“Both teams came out with tough pressure defense that we haven’t been used to in the past with our opening games,” Tomlinson said. “The nerves are out from our first two games, so we should be cutting down on turnovers. We also need to work on our shooting percentage both from the field and on free throws.”
Sophomore center Hannah Ferris averaged 14 points and seven rebounds in the two games. Carla Halvorson and Mindy Desmond averaged nine points per game, while Kylee Carter, Cassie Buck, Alex Allen and Taylor Brown contributed some quality minutes, according to Tomlinson.
The Easton boys also came up with two easy wins. On Friday, the Bears were impressive at home in a 68-21 triumph over Wisdom. The next day, Easton got past East Grand, 67-34.
Coach Dillon Kingsbury’s squad received huge contributions from their lone returning starters from last year. Hunter Turner scored 19 against Wisdom and 24 against the Vikings, while Jared Hafford poured in 28, including five three-pointers, in the win over the Pioneers while tossing in 16, with four more threes, against East Grand.
“[Turner and Hafford] have a lot of weight on their shoulders,” Kingsbury said. “This may be the case early on until the younger guys start getting experience and find their roles.
“Our team is very young in many key positions and it’s going to be a process throughout the season, but I’ve been impressed with the players’ mindset of working hard in practice, both mentally and physically, and realizing the importance of getting better with each game as individual players and as a team,” he added.
The defending Class D state champion Washburn girls and new coach Diana Trams will have to wait until tonight to kick off their regular season. That’s because Monday’s scheduled home opener against Fort Fairfield was postponed due to the snowstorm. The Beavers will host Southern Aroostook at 6:30 p.m.
The Fort Fairfield girls collected a 51-31 win over Katahdin Saturday behind 17 points from senior Sydney Churchill. Whitney McNamee added 10 points and seven other Fort players reached the scoring column.
Megan Merry had 12 points for the Cougars.
The Washburn boys saw senior Mitchell Worcester establish a new career scoring record at the school. Worcester passed Jason Thompson, who had logged 1,596 points, for the top spot on the list and his 33 points helped the Beavers defeat the Ashland boys Saturday, 74-31.
Worcester also had eight rebounds and six assists in the victory.
“In my opinion and many other opposing coaches as well, he is the toughest player to defend in Eastern Maine,” said his coach, Randy Norsworthy. “His 6-3 height and quickness, with the ability to drain the three-ball, makes him really tough to guard.”
As for the game, Norsworthy was impressed with how his young team, with a starting lineup including a freshman, two sophomores and two seniors, competed in its first game.
“I think that at times we pushed the ball up the court well and defended quite well,” he said. “We need to be much better in the rebounding area and more consistent with our defensive pressure, but being young, we will have some adjusting to do getting used to the different players on the court.”
Mark Chasse’s eight points were tops for the Hornets. Cody Blair and Tyler Chasse added seven apiece.
The Fort Fairfield boys got past Limestone-MSSM Friday in the mutual opener, 76-61. Coach Todd Alley said teamwork, scoring balance and determination by his squad keyed the victory.
“We got meaningful contributions from nine players and hustled for four quarters,” he said. “We will only be as successful as our teamwork carries us.
“We had 18 offensive rebounds, several key steals for layups and hustled back in transition to make them take tough shots,” Alley added.
Andrew Lewis scored 17 points and added 12 rebounds and six assists, while Logan Craig had 15 points and Johnny Theriault tossed in 14. Andrew Tuck and Hunter Beaulieu added 12 and 10, respectively. Austin Bernier dished out a team-high six assists.
Nate Tucker scored 20 points and Tristan Kirk had 16 for the Eagles. Chris Bernier was also in double figures with 12 points and he also had eight rebounds. Brandon Thompson was the team’s rebounding leader with nine.
“It was huge to win the opener from a confidence standpoint,” Alley added.
UNDER WAY — Central Aroostook’s Steven Decker swats the opening tip away
from Southern Aroostook’s Mason Caron during Friday night’s season opener. The 2012-13 basketball season began with a flurry as local squads hit the hardwood.
The Central Aroostook Panthers opened their season with a 44-32 triumph over Southern Aroostook in Dyer Brook Friday. Sophomore Chandler Brewer’s 19 points paced CA, which used a 12-4 scoring run in the third quarter to break open what was a two-point game at intermission. Jesse Boulier scored 19 points for the Warriors.
Due to Monday’s postponements, the Central Aroostook girls and first-year coach Megan McCarthy will now open their season with a 6 p.m. game at Madawaska tonight, while the Ashland girls begin play at Van Buren and all-state guard Parise Rossignol tonight, also at 6 p.m.
