Packed gym for rivalry game

11 years ago

The Houlton Shiretowners continue their progress toward an undefeated season, as they picked up three more wins for a 12-0 record this week.
On Monday, the Shiretowners traveled to Fort Kent and picked up a 74-63 win, as Kyle Bouchard and Nick Guiod combined for 60 of Houlton’s points. Bouchard put together an all-around game by pouring in 33 points, grabbing 21 rebounds and handing out 10 assists, while Guiod dropped in 27 points and had four rebounds.

Matt Daigle led Fort Kent with 18 points.
But, the most highly anticipated game for local fans was last Wednesday night when the Shires and Hawks met for the second time on the season. Alumni Gymnasium was packed with fans looking forward to watching a closely-challenged game. That did not happen. The Shiretowners defeated Hodgdon, 51-33.
“It was a great atmosphere for high school basketball,” said Houlton coach Rob Moran. “The gym was as full as I have seen the place in a while. But, the game was anticlimactic. There were no runs and our team was not in a flow.”
Houlton took a 15-4 lead to start the game, which surprised many.
“In a majority of games this season we have come out in man-to-man,” said Hodgdon coach Rob Smith. “I know we seem to settle down quicker when we play a zone against Houlton. I decided to come out in a 3-2 zone and hoped that it would accomplish the goal of settling down. The problem with a zone is rebounding and Houlton took advantage of it, as we did not box out well.”
Moran agreed that the Shiretowners did take advantage of their size, but he liked the team’s overall defensive effort.
“We played really good half-court man, but I do not think we executed well offensively,” he said. “We missed free throws, as well as a decent amount of layups.”
Once Hodgdon fell behind, Smith switched his defense to man-to-man.
“When we had the ball on offense, we were getting good looks early, but just were not knocking them down. Our rotations on working the ball around Houlton’s zone were not quick and our spacing was not good. This led to shots that were rushed and not always open looks.”
The Shiretowners surged ahead at halftime, 25-13.
“In the second half, we balanced the floor better, but our shots were still not falling,” said Smith. “Houlton did well to get back on defense and that did not allow us to score in transition. In most of the Houlton-Hodgdon games there are runs to be made. In this game, we never got the momentum going.”
Houlton was in control by the third period, 40-21.
“Holding Houlton to 51 points can give you a shot to win, but we just had an off shooting night and could not catch back up,” said Smith. “I think the score reflects the defense that was being played. Both teams played defense well and made it tough all night for either team to get good open looks.”
Moran felt that Guiod turned in a solid game and was pleased with Bouchard’s effort against Hodgdon’s prolific scorer Chris Hudson.
The tandem of Guiod and Bouchard shouldered the scoring load, as Guiod netted 17 points, handed out seven assists and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while Bouchard added 16 points and hauled down 13 rebounds.
Elyjah Crockett and Isaac Cone each chipped in with six points for Houlton.
For Hodgdon, Hudson scored 13 points and Deyrell Vargas added eight more. Keegan Gardner and Tyler Sherman each posted five points.
“I do not think that either team played particularly well,” Moran added.
The Shiretowners continue a tough schedule to close out the season. They will play Presque Isle, Schenck and Stearns on the road before coming home with Caribou and Washington Academy.
“We cannot look by anyone,” Moran said. “It is one game at a time.”
The Hawks’ remaining schedule includes Central Aroostook, Fort Fairfield and Southern Aroostook.
On Monday the Hawks traveled to Limestone and soared to a 64-23 victory.
Hudson dropped in 16 points, as each Hawk scored in the game. Devin Quint netted nine; Vargas, Sherman and Kevin McAfee all had six points.
After leading 11-4 to open the game, the Hawks held a 32-9 halftime cushion and forged ahead 52-16 after the third en route to the win.
Chris Bernier led Limestone/MSSM with 11 points.
Last Friday, the Hawks suffered a 46-44 loss to host Washburn — their second defeat after falling to Houlton two days earlier.
The Hawks had beaten the Beavers, 70-43, in their first matchup.
The Hodgdon boys opened the game with an 18-8 lead, but watched it dissolve to a 26-24 halftime advantage. In the third, Hodgdon gripped a 38-36 lead. But, in the final eight minutes, Washburn outscored Hodgdon, 10-6, to take the win.
Hudson knocked down 15 points for Hodgdon, while Quint posted 14 more.
Washburn was led by Jarrett Olson with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Noah Caron with 13 points.
The GHCA Eagles met Madawaska in back-to-back games with the Owls coming out with both wins. In their first game at the University of Maine Presque Isle, the Owls posted a 66-36 win last Thursday.
The Owls used a 29-2 scoring surge in the second quarter to break the game open en route to the win.
Dana Brown paced GHCA with 17 points while Aaron Holmes had 14 more.
For Madawaska, Ian Lee scored a game-high 23 points, with Greg Cyr adding 16 points.
On Monday, the Eagles traveled to Madawaska, meeting the same fate, losing 81-34.
Madawaska wasted no time taking a 32-9 opening lead and cruising to the win behind Travis Thibeault’s 17 points, Lee’s 15 and Jake Gendreau’s 13.
Brown and Holmes again topped the scoring for GHCA with 12 points apiece.
On Monday in Dyer Brook, the Warriors pulled away from Van Buren, 64-38, behind Cam Landry’s 19 points.
Nolan Altvater scored 17 interior points, while Cody Lassonde netted 13 and Jackson Mathers added nine more.
For Van Buren, Jake Rioux scored a game-high 22 points.
Last Thursday, the Warriors overtook rival Katahdin, 67-50 in Stacyville.
The game was tied 15-all after the first quarter, but the Warriors took a 29-23 halftime lead. After three quarters, the Warriors remained ahead 46-42.
Altvater posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Mathers and Landry each tallied 12 points.
For Katahdin, Wyatt Morse pumped in 19 points, while Gavin Russell posted 12 and T.J. Young chipped in with nine.
Last Tuesday in Fort Fairfield, the Warriors overpowered the Tigers, 58-40.
Mathers led all scorers with 21 points, while Landry and Altvater each netted 11 points. Lassonde chipped in with nine for the winners, as well.
For Fort Fairfield, Chris Giberson scored eight points.
The Warriors built an opening lead of 15-6 and held a comfortable 30-16 halftime cushion en route to the win.
The Cougars fell to host Easton last Tuesday night, 59-48.
Katahdin led 16-13 to start the game and held a 24-23 lead at halftime before Easton’s Logan Halvorson hit a 3-pointer to start the third and the Bears never looked back. After three, Easton led 40-35 en route to the win.
Turner led Easton with 17 points, with Halvorson posting 10 points.
Katahdin’s Morse scored a game-high 19 points.
On Monday, the East Grand Vikings fell to undefeated host Easton, 63-30.
The Bears held a 16-10 first-quarter lead, but ignited for a 40-21 halftime score. After three, Easton led 55-23.
Hunter Turner led Easton with 17 points, while Cody Halvorson and Logan Halvorson posted 12 and 10 points respectively.
Kenny Winiarski and Alex Stoddard each scored eight points for the Vikings.
The Vikings were defeated last Saturday, 61-49, in Danforth by the Wisdom Pioneers. No details were available at presstime.
However, the night before, Woodland overpowered East Grand, 57-32 in Baileyville.
The Dragons led at each quarter break: 22-10; 38-15; and 46-24.
Winiarski paced the Vikings’ offense with 13 points.