Boys summaries: Shiretowners hold undefeated record

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
With teams halfway through the basketball season, the Houlton boys are among the top teams in The County keeping their perfect record of 8-0 intact after a close game with Caribou last Thursday.    The Shires held on for a 49-47 victory on the road.
“The win at Caribou was a great team win in which everyone played well,” said Houlton coach Rob Moran. “Jake D and Chris Crane, played great.”
Kyle Bouchard led Houlton offensively with 15 points, while Christian Crane tossed in 10, Jake Drew added nine points, with Nick Guiod finishing with eight more.
For Caribou, Derek Richardson led the way with 15 points, while Donovan Savage chipped in with nine points and Dayne Savage with eight.
The Houlton boys opened the game with a 15-10 edge, but that dissolved in the second quarter as the host Vikings outscored Houlton, 15-6, for a 25-21 halftime lead. After three, just a basket separated the teams, 34-32, with the Shires’ advantage.
In the final seconds, the Vikings had a chance to take the win, but Dayne Savage’s 3-point dagger missed.
In the preliminary game, Houlton defeated Caribou, 42-38.
At East Machias, the Houlton boys came home with an 84-74 win over Washington Academy on Dec. 30. Bouchard lit up the hoop with 36 points, as he also scored his 1,000th high school point (See related story) and snatched seven rebounds.
Guiod netted 22 points and Crane posted 15 more for the Shires. Houlton went 27 for 35 from the free throw line.
Austin Seavey and Gage Feeney racked up 21 and 20 points respectively for the Raiders.
Houlton led 18-14; 38-34; and 59-52 at the quarter breaks.
Hodgdon 72, SACS 52 — Last Thursday, the Hawks pulled away from the host Warriors behind Chris Hudson’s 25 points. Tyler Sherman finished with 17 and Deyrell Vargas had 15 more for Hodgdon.
For SACS, freshmen Jackson Mathers and Nolan Altvater carried the offensive load with 24 and 11 points respectively.
East Grand 62, Limestone/MSSM 43 — On Saturday in Danforth, the Vikings got a boost in the second quarter from Logan Crone to pick up the win.
Crone scored 12 of his 19 points in the second quarter to give the Vikings a 33-27 halftime lead after the teams were tied 11-all in the first. In the third, the Vikings kept the scoring spread, 47-39 en route to the win.
Jimmy Brittain posted 15 points and Kenny Winiarski  chipped in with 12 more for the winners.
For Limestone/MSSM, Chris Bernier had 17 points.
East Gand 66, GHCA 48 — At Hodgdon last Thursday, East Grand opened the game with a 23-11 advantage and turned it into a 42-20 halftime cushion behind Crone’s 14 first-half points. He finished the game with 18. Brittian added 13 and Winiarski another 10.
For GHCA, Dana Brown fired in a game-high 22 points, while Aaron Holmes posted 21.
East Grand 48, Limestone/MSSM 54 — In the first meeting between these two teams last Monday, the host Eagles came out firing on all cylinders in the opening quarter taking a 22-8 lead and never relinquishing it to the Vikings.
The Eagles led at halftime, 31-21 and after three, they held a slim 37-31 advantage.
Winiarski keyed East Grand with 15 points, while Crone added another 14.
For Limestone/MSSM, Tristan Kirk fired in a game-high 27 points, while Bernier posted 14 more.
Katahdin 73, GHCA 27 — The visiting Cougars overpowered the GHCA Eagles on Saturday in Hodgdon behind Nick Lane’s 14 points and Wyatt Morse’s 13 points, five assists and three steals. T.J. Young finished with 13 points, as well.
For the Eagles, Brown and Holmes each had 11 points in the loss.
Katahdin won each quarter 23-10; 18-2; and 23-7.
Katahdin 80, PVHS 56 — The Cougars picked up a solid win over visiting Penobscot Valley last Friday night in Stacyville.
Morse connected on four 3-pointers and finished the night with a game-high 30 points and had six steals, while Gavin Russell scored 13 and Shey Lane added 10 more.
For the Howlers, Jarrett Priest posted 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Cougars led 26-18; 46-26 and 72-41 at the quarter breaks.
Ashland 70, GHCA 46 — Last Monday at the University of Maine Presque Isle, the Hornets stung the Eagles as they started the game with a 30-6 run, powering their way past the Eagles.
At halftime, the Hornets settled in for a 45-21 lead and after three, they led 60-32.
Ashland’s Cody Blair knocked down 22 points, along with Tyler Chasse’s 15.
Brown and Holmes keyed the Eagles with 18 and 16 points respectively.
SACS 50, Van Buren 66 — In Van Buren Saturday, the Crusaders held a 16-12 opening lead and took a 32-25 advantage into halftime. In the third, Van Buren pulled ahead 53-37.
Andre Rossignol poured in a game-high 29 points.
For SACS, Altvater and Mathers scored 17 and 12 points respectively, with Cameron Landry adding eight.
SACS 56, Washburn 63 — The Warriors suffered a close loss to host Washburn last Monday.
Jarrett Olson knocked down six of his seven 3-pointers in the first half to give the Beavers a 30-23 halftime advantage en route to the win. Olson finished with a game-high 31 points, while Noah Caron had 10 fourth-quarter points for 14 points.
For SACS, Mathers scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, while Altvater and Landry both chipped in with 10 points apiece.