By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HODGDON — The Houlton boys basketball team secured the top spot in the Class C playoffs Saturday, and kept their unbeaten season intact, thanks to a thrilling, 64-56 come-from-behind victory over Hodgdon.
Houlton (17-0) was slated to end its season Tuesday night at Caribou. Regardless of the outcome of that game, the Shires will be the No. 1 seed in Eastern Class C and therefore earn a bye straight to the Bangor Auditorium. Houlton’s quarterfinal game will be played Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 3:35 p.m. against the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 preliminary contest. As of Tuesday morning, the No. 8 seed was Stearns of Millinocket and the No. 9 seed was Fort Kent.
The Shires beat Fort Kent twice on the season – 71-28 at home and 50-44 at Fort Kent. Houlton also beat Stearns twice – 69-47 at home and 60-37 on the road.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
CONTROLS — Houlton’s Nick Guiod, No. 14, controls the ball as Devin Quint attempts to swipe it away.
For Hodgdon, the playoff picture is not as clear. The Hawks (12-4) faced Limestone/MSSM Tuesday evening and end the season Friday against Greater Houlton Christian Academy. As of Tuesday morning, the Hawks were the No. 5 seed in Eastern Class D. What is a certainty is that Hodgdon will be playing a preliminary playoff game as only the top seed in the region — currently Jonesport Beals — gets a bye.
If Hodgdon remains fifth, it would host the No. 12 seed — currently Schenck — in the prelims tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 13.
In Saturday’s game, Houlton mounted an epic fourth-quarter comeback to snatch the victory. Houlton’s Kyle Bouchard led all players with 25 points, while Nick Guiod added 14, Kole Buzzeo, 12; Dan Howe, seven; Dan Swallow, four; and Elyjah Crockett, two.
For Hodgdon, Chris Hudson netted 23 points, while Josh Hudson added 13; Devon Logie and Tyler Sherman, both six; Nick Lunn, four; and Devin Quint and Matt Harmon, two each.
Coming into the game, Hodgdon coach Rob Smith said he was hoping his team would be able to make a statement early in the matchup, and wondered how much the team “had left in the tank” after a tough 59-57 loss to Southern Aroostook Friday evening.
“Last night (against SACS), I was not very happy with where we were at as a team,” Smith said. “Leading up to that game, though, we were right where I wanted them. Apparently we aren’t quite there yet, which is fine because I don’t want to peak too early.”
Houlton coach Rob Moran said his goal was to play better defense against the athletic Hawks.
“We need to take care of the ball better than we did in our place and hopefully make some shots,” he said. “I’m pretty sure we will see a zone from coach Smith tonight, so we have been working on that a lot in practice.”
The Hawks did precisely that, playing a 2-3 zone for most of the game. That zone posed all sorts of problems for Houlton in the first three quarters, as the team was unable to get much penetration to the basket. Compounding the problem, the normally sure-shooting Shires were unable to connect form the perimeter, resulting in many single-shot opportunities.
Hodgdon dominated from the onset, taking a 15-5 lead in the first quarter. The Hawks led 31-22 at halftime and started the third quarter with that same intensity pushing their lead to 48-34 after three periods.
But Houlton remained undaunted and mounted an incredible comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Hawks 30-8 to steal the victory.
So how did the Shires wage such an impressive turnaround? By doing something they had been unable to do through most of the first three quarters — making their shots from the perimeter. Buzzeo hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Guiod connected for a pair of treys, which forced Hodgdon out of its tight zone defense.
Once that happened, the inside game opened up for the Shires and the team made the most of its scoring chances. Meanwhile Hodgdon went ice cold from the floor. Depth also played a role for the Hawks as foul troubles came into play for several starters late in the game.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
SMOOTH — Smooth gliding Chris Hudson of Hodgdon puts the ball in the basket against Houlton defenders Kyle Bouchard, left, and Dan Swallow, right.
Aiding the Shires’ cause was a seven of 14 shooting effort from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, Houlton made just two free throws for the game. The Shires finished nine of 18 (50 percent) from the foul line. Hodgdon had the better percentage from the line, converting 10 of 15 foul shots (67 percent).
For the game, Houlton sank nine 3-pointers, compared to just two for the Hawks.
“We’ve been pretty even keeled all year,” Moran said. “We never panic in a game. There is a lot of things we can still get better on before going to Bangor.”
Saturday night’s game was one to remember as more than 600 people filled Hawks gymnasium to capacity. In fact, the gym was sold out by 5 p.m. According to school officials, people were waiting in the parking lot by 3:30 p.m. and started lining up outside the doors at 4 p.m. for the 7 p.m. game.
Local radio station WHOU streamed the game on the Internet and reportedly had an estimated 1,800 viewers at its peak.
Saturday’s game meant big business for the sports boosters too. According to Hodgdon High School secretary Andrea Nightingale, ticket sales for Saturday’s game totaled $1,400, while concessions topped out at $1,200. A typical game at the school brings in less than half those amounts.
