Houlton AYBL boys compete in tourneys

Houlton’s 7-8 grade boys AYBL basketball team competed in two tournaments, as well as playing two regular season games. 
On March 7-8, the Shires finished second at the Bangor YMCA tournament. They opened with Dexter Saturday morning, winning a close game 60-54. Dan Swallow led the team, pouring in 19 points. Nick Guiod added 11 more.
In the second game, the Shires overwhelmed a shorter Central team, jumping out to a 33-10 halftime lead and cruising to a 54-26 win. Dylan Howland and Guiod led the team with 12 points apiece.  The Shires met Dexter again in the first playoff round, coming away with another close win edging the Tigers, 46-40. Swallow led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, while Elyjah Crockett chipped in with eight.
The Shires matched up against a very good Rockland team in the semifinals with Rockland jumping out to a 12-point halftime lead, 34-22. The defensive intensity picked up for the Shires in the second half as they held Rockland to 12 points, while picking up a 48-46 win.
The last game of the tournament was a matchup with the only other undefeated team, Calais. Calais jumped out to an early lead and never looked back taking a 10-point halftime lead. Calais pulled away in the second half cruising to a 68-43 win.
On Thursday March 12, the Shires hosted Dyer Brook in a regular season game of the two top teams in the league. Dyer Brook led after the first quarter, 20-14, while holding a 35-27 halftime lead. Both teams played well in the third, with Houlton cutting the lead to four, 52-48. Houlton scored the first two points of the forth quarter cutting the lead to two, but Dyer Brook took control of the game dominating the quarter and winning by a score of 76-56. Swallow had 12 points, while Isiah Straubel added 10.
Rob Rockwell led Dyer Brook with 22 points and Colton Bivinghouse added 13.
Brewer was the next destination for a round robin tournament with the Shires matching up against four teams they do not see in the regular season.
The first game was played against Belfast. The much shorter Belfast team hung in with Houlton, but could not overtake the Shires, as Houlton eked out a 44-41 win. Swallow and Russell Socoby each had 12 points.
The second game of the day was the toughest game of the tournament, as Brewer beat the Shires 63-49. Kole Buzzeo hit three 3-pointers on his way to a game high 15 points.
Sunday was a great day as Hermon was the day’s first opponent. The much bigger Houlton boys dominated early, grabbing a 35-15 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same, as the Shires went on to win 64-23. Guiod led Houlton with 11 points, while Hunter Hanning and Buzzeo each added 10 apiece.
Mt. View was the last game of the day and the team kept its high pace, pulling out to a 28-18 lead.  Devon Logie led the second-half attack with 10 points as the Shires won 63-30.
On Saturday March 2, the Shires played Presque Isle Blue at Hodgdon Elementary School. Houlton jumped out to an early 19-6 lead. Both teams played evenly the rest of the way, as Houlton won by a score of 51-39. Crockett dropped in 13 points while Logie had 12.