Warriors, Cougars move up in ranks

Cougars look to build on positive play, attitude
    The Katahdin Cougars improved their positioning in the Class D Heal Point standings as they are now in sixth place with a 5-3 record. Last week, the Cougars defeated Class C Hodgdon and Class D Greater Houlton Christian Academy before suffering an eight-point loss to Schenck.
    Monday night in Stacyville, the Cougars pulled away from Hodgdon behind Brandon Robinson’s 40 points.
    The Cougars took a 15-12 lead and extended it to a 37-25 halftime advantage. In the third, the Cougars stretched the lead further to 56-35 on their way to an 83-46 victory.
    Helping high-point scorer Robinson on offense for the Cougars was Colton Bivighouse who knocked down 19 points, while Bill Livezey added seven points and Kolby Gallagher five more.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
BLOCKED — Southern Aroostook’s Jesse Boulier took the ball strong to the hoop, but was blocked by GHCA’s Ryan Campbell during last Saturday’s game in Dyer Brook. Caught up in the action is GHCA’s Ethan Holmes. The Warriors came away with the win, 78-54.
    For Hodgdon, Josh Hudson and Jake Tidd each scored 13 points, while Nick Lunn chipped in with seven and Quinn Harris added five more.
    In the junior varsity game, Katahdin won, 76-28.
    Last Thursday, the Cougars fell behind to open the game against visiting Schenck, 14-4, but crawled back into the game by halftime, 25-21. Over three quarters, the Wolverines maintained a 39-32 lead en route to a 56-48 win.
    Katahdin coach Shawn Craig said the Cougars scored the first four points and from that point, his team couldn’t buy a basket.
    “We got the ball where we wanted it, had some good looks, but they just didn’t fall for us,” Craig said. “The rest of the game, we were patient and I think we controlled the tempo well. For the most part, I think we played pretty good defense, too.”
    The Cougars’, 6-4 center, Bivighouse, was into early foul trouble and had to sit out, which was costly for Katahdin.
    “A few defensive stops and a couple of more baskets and you never know what could have happened,” Craig said.
    Katahdin’s Robinson was the game-high scorer with 19 points, while Bivighouse netted 11 more. Gallagher knocked down seven points and Livezey added six more.
    With the Cougars halfway through the season, Craig said his squad is coming together as a team.
    “I am hoping we can continue to build on positive play and a positive attitude,” he said. “This seems to be the best formula for a successful year.”
    Last Tuesday, the Cougars narrowly escaped the visiting Greater Houlton Christian Academy Eagles, 50-45.
    Katahdin opened the game with a 19-12 lead, watching it dissolve to a 25-24 halftime advantage. In the third, the Eagles took the lead, 35-31, but were outscored 19-10 by Katahdin in a decisive fourth quarter.
    Robinson was again game-high scorer with 20 points, while Bivighouse netted 16 more. Gallagher and Livezey chipped in with nine and five points, respectively for the winners.
    For GHCA, 3-5, Deyrell Vargas and Ethan Holmes both netted 11 points, while Micah Wiley hit for 10 and Russell Socoby chipped in with seven.
Warriors overpower four of their opponents
    The Southern Aroostook Warriors overpowered all four of their opponents last week for a 6-3 record moving up in the latest Class D Heal Point standings to number eight. The Warriors defeated Class D opponents Ashland, GHCA and East Grand, as well as Class C Hodgdon.
    In Dyer Brook Monday night, the Warriors came out firing in the first quarter for a 22-6 lead and by  halftime, they had extended their advantage to 46-12. After the third, Southern Aroostook was well ahead, 67-34 as they took an 87-50 victory over 2-7 Ashland.
    Cody Robinson led the Warriors with 19 points, while Pat Goodall netted 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Jesse Boulier tossed in a dozen points, along with Anthony Diaferio’s 11. Other players contributing to the balanced attack were Jake Lassonde and Rob Rockwell with nine points apiece and Joe Frazier added six for the winners.
    In the junior varsity game, Southern Aroostook hosted Presque Isle and defeated the Wildcats, 69-66.
    On Saturday, the Warriors shook the visiting Greater Houlton Christian Academy Eagles in the second half for a 78-54 win.
    The Warriors opened the game with a slim 24-22 lead, but extended it to 41-33 at halftime. In the third, the Warriors built a 59-49 lead.
    Rockwell led SACS’ offense with 24 points, while Goodall posted 16 points and 12 rebounds and Robinson tallied 16 points and  had seven assists. Boulier also tossed in six points.
    For 3-6 GHCA, Wiley scored 17 points, while Holmes netted 14 and Adam Little tossed in 10 more. Vargas dropped in nine points.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
FOCUSED — GHCA’S Deyrell Vargas focuses as Southern Aroostook’s Cody Robinson gets ready to block his shot during Saturday’s game in Dyer Brook.
    In the junior varsity game, SACS picked up a 78-17 victory.
    In last Thursday’s game, the Warriors trailed 18-12 before they outscored the host Hodgdon Hawks, 28-8, in the second quarter, as Robinson scored 12 of his game-high 29 points to give SACS a 40-26 halftime lead. The Warriors extended their lead to 61-40 over three quarters finishing with an 82-56 victory.    Southern Aroostook’s Goodall dropped in 13 points and Rockwell scored 10, including eight in the second-quarter run. Diaferio and Boulier each added six points.
    For Hodgdon, 1-7,  Nick Lunn tallied 18 points, while Josh Hudson totaled 15 and Devon Logie finished with 12.
    In the junior varsity game, SACS won 74-36.
    Last Tuesday, the Warriors took a 25-2 opening lead and outgunned host East Grand, 87-13.
    Rockwell scored 15 points for SACS, while Robinson tossed in 12 points and Goodall added 10 more. Lassonde and Boulier chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
    For East Grand, Dustin Morse scored six points.
    In the junior varsity game, SACS won, 54-21.
Lady Warriors steamroll East Grand
    Last Wednesday, the Southern Aroostook girls raced away from host East Grand, 54-25.
    The game was knotted at 10-all before the Lady Warriors (4-2) outscored East Grand, 14-2 for a 24-12 halftime lead. After three quarters, SACS extended its advantage to 34-19.
    Returning to action for the Lady Warriors, Sable Altvater wasted no time, as she was the game-high scorer with 18 points, followed by Kaitlynn Sommers with 13 more. Jess Tucker chipped in with six points.
    Shaunna Beaudoin’s 14 points keyed East Grand, while Kim Armstrong added five points.
Hawks fall behind early to CAHS
    The Hodgdon Hawks traveled to Mars Hill last Friday night and suffered a 75-37 loss to the Panthers, who jumped to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, leading 39-19 at halftime.
    “They used a man-to-man press to apply pressure full court and took advantage of turnovers to score quickly,” said Hodgdon coach Rob Smith. “When they set up on offense, they looked to go inside for their first option and then outside.”
    In the second half, according to Smith, the Panthers continued to play tough defense and offensively, they had a balance attack working their inside-out game.
    “They were a very balanced scoring team with five guys in double digits,” Smith said.
    Caleb Kelly lead the Panthers with 16, Brendan York had 14, Mike McClung 13, Daniel Brewer and Tyler Rusby had 10 each. 
    For the Hawks, Nick Lunn had 13 and Josh Hudson had 12.
GHCA teams lose to Washburn
    The Greater Houlton Christian Academy boys and girls both lost to visiting Washburn on Monday at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
    The Eagles suffered their sixth loss in nine outings, as they were defeated 69-39 by the undefeated 6-0 Beavers.
    The Eagles stayed close to the Beavers in the first half of action, as Washburn led 29-22 at halftime. Washburn pulled away in the third, outscoring the Eagles 17-10, for a 46-32 lead.
    Holmes led GHCA with 14 points, while Wiley and Vargas both had six points apiece. Russell Socoby also added five points for the Eagles.
    In girls action, the Lady Eagles were overpowered 53-20 by Washburn, which improved to 6-1.
    In that game, Washburn’s Rebecca Campbell broke into the 1,000-point club in the first quarter, as she only needed nine points. Campbell finished with 11 in the game.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
SHOT — GHCA’S Russell Socoby looks to get a shot off by Southern Aroostook’s Vance Gustin.
    The Beavers raced to a 27-3 opening-quarter lead and held a comfortable 39-10 cushion at halftime. After three, Washburn held a 45-14 lead.
    Olivia Lord and Lauren Bishop scored seven and five points respectively for GHCA.
Lady Cougars fall to CAHS, overtake GHCA
    The Katahdin Lady Cougars earned their first victory last week, but took two lopsided losses, as well.
    On Monday in Fort Fairfield, the Lady Cougars fell behind 35-9 at halftime, as Fort Fairfield cruised to a 68-16 decision.
    Megan Merry scored seven points for Katahdin.
    The Lady Cougars were defeated 55-21 by host Central Aroostook last Friday night.
    The Lady Panthers built a 19-3 first-quarter lead and held a 34-12 halftime advantage. After three, they were still in control, 42-15.
    Kristen Long scored 12 points, had 10 steals and eight rebounds for 8-1 Central Aroostook, while Vicki McIntyre was the game-high scorer with 18 points and Rachael Grew netted 10 points.
    For Katahdin, 1-6, Myah Smallwood tallied eight points, while Bailey McNally scored seven points and Morgan Livezey added four.
    Last Tuesday, the Lady Cougars picked up their first win, 60-32. over GHCA in Stacyville. Katahdin built a 31-11 halftime lead and never looked back.
    Merry led Katahdin with 15 points, while Brittany Fogarty netted 13 points; Smallwood tossed in 11 and McNally added seven.
    For GHCA, Allison Little scored 11 points, while Destinee Neureuther added eight and Bishop posted six.