Shires open season, rebound from opening loss

By Gloria Austin  
Staff Writer
    After an opening night loss on Friday, the Houlton Shiretowners rebounded the next night with a victory, showing the fans that they will be competitive on the year.
OPEN LOOK – Houlton’s Patrick Longstaff gets an open look at the hoop as he elevates for a shot over Madawaska defense. The Shires won their second game of the season, 56-49. The Houlton boys loss their opener to Schenck, 51-38.
   “We are very excited about our first win,” said Houlton coach Mike Fogarty. “The Owls are returning pretty much everyone from last year’s team (10 wins) and I believe they will win at least 10 games this year, as well.”
    The Shiretowners built a 17-8 first-quarter lead en route to a 56-49 victory over Madawaska.
    The difference in the game was in the Shires’ teamwork, as senior captain Pat Longstaff and senior teammate Porter Gervais and junior Jordan Codrey all became scoring threats, releasing the pressure on captain James Bates, who draws lots of attention in the post.
    When the Shiretowners hits the boards, they were able to kick in the transition game for easy points. But, coach Fogarty still wants his players to hit the boards harder.
    “We will still need to work on defensive rebounds,” he said. “We gave up too many second chances.”
SET – Houlton’s Jordan Codrey gets ready to take the ball to the hoop against Madawaska’s defense during last Saturday’s game. The Shiretowners won, 56-49.
    The Owls made two  comeback runs at the Shiretowners in the second period, closing the scoring gap to 26-23 at halftime and scoring a flurry of points at the end of the third to trail, 42-39. However, the Shiretowners handled the pressure and hung on for the win.
    Bates finished with 17 points, while Gervais netted 10 points and Longstaff, who made his presence known on both ends of the court, scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Codrey added eight point and Jordan Bragan chipped in with seven.
    In their season opener, the Shiretowners shot a dismal 28 percent from the field being defeated 51-38 by host Schenck in East Millinocket.
    “We had our chances,” said Fogarty. “Our offense was providing us with good looks, we just had an off night shooting.”
    Though the numbers are fact, the score was closer than indicated, as the Shires trailed 22-18 at halftime and even went ahead by a point in the period. Houlton kept the game close in the third, trailing 32-29, but were outscored down the stretch, 19-9.
    “Aaron Hutchins made some tough shots in the fourth,” Fogarty said. “He is a very talented player.”
    Hutchins finished with 30 points, including six 3-pointers, while Houlton’s Bates came away with 19 points, with Gervais adding seven and Dylan Flewelling chipping in with six.
    “I am very pleased with our effort in the first two games,” Fogarty said. “We will continue to work on ball management, with regards to time and score situations. Our goal will be to get better each night and continue to work hard on the defensive end.”