Houlton 5-6 grade boys capture first-ever Eastern Maine title, finish season 13-0

The Houlton 5-6 grade boys picked up three victories over the weekend to claim the first-ever Eastern Maine Basketball League championship.
Houlton defeated Glenburn, 68-38, in the quarterfinal, with Nate Mooers leading the way with 22 points, followed by Cameron Cleary with 16 and Isia Bouchard with 15 points.
    In the semifinal game, the boys matched up with a “tough” Holden team for a chance to go to the final.     According to Cleary, Holden came out with a lot of intense pressure and after a slow start, the Houlton boys took control and defeated a determined Holden team, 50-37.
Scoring for Houlton were Nick Perfitt with 16 points, Cleary with 11 points, Daniel McNally with eight points and Mooers added six.
In the finals, it was Old Town Y with an 11-1 record going against Houlton, which was 12-0.
The Shires took an early lead and were up 28-18 at the half and continued to lead, 37-23, with about five minutes left in regulation.
Houlton held on to a 41-37 advantage with 1:43 left in the game. In the last minutes of the game, the Shires played tough defense and closed out with seven straight points by Bouchard to win, 48-40.
Scoring for Houlton in the championship game were Cleary with 18 points, Bouchard 11 points, Nick Perfitt and Mooers each with nine points.
Houlton outscored their opponents on the year, 667-345.