Shiretowners experiencing ‘growing pains’

Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
LOOSE BALL — Houlton’s Jacob Drew, right, and Lee Academy’s Cole Nicholas both go for a loose ball during Monday’s game.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Houlton watched a strong first half dissolve under pressure in the second half, as they lost to visiting Lee Academy, 56-44.
    Of concern is the fact that one of the Shiretowners’ big men, Elyjah Crockett, turned his ankle within the first two minutes of the game on Monday. It is questionable when he may return. Crockett is the team’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer. Crockett is averaging 12 points and 14 rebounds per game.
    Isaiha Straubel another big man off the bench has suffered a broken thumb and Doug Dickison, a senior guard, is playing on a sprained ankle.
    Houlton took a 10-4 opening lead and held a narrow 21-17 advantage at halftime. Lee Academy had a layoff over the Christmas break and had a walk through, according to Lee’s D.J. Johnson, before coming to Houlton.
    The Shires held the lead until the third when Lee Academy tied the game on back-to-back layups. The Pandas took the lead at the 5:15 mark, 23-21, and Houlton hit a scoring drought for the next four minutes until Kyle Bouchard got them back on the scoreboard when he drove to the hoop. Lee’s Johnson answered with a 3-pointer, as the Pandas outscored the Shires, 19-10 in the third for a 36-31 lead that they wouldn’t give up.
    Midway through the fourth, the Shires fell behind 42-36 and could not recover as Lee built a head of steam, outscoring Houlton, 20-13 in the period, for the win.
    “We had too many turnovers and missed free throws,” said Houlton coach Rob Moran. “We made freshman mistakes.”
    The Shiretowners’ starting lineup had three freshmen — Bouchard, Dan Howe and Jake Drew — along with Dan Swallow and Crockett, who was replaced by Cody Woods.
    “We are having a lot of growing pains,” added Moran. “We need to do a better job at taking care of the ball.”
    But, Moran was pleased with his team’s half-court man defense.
    “We defended fairly well,” he added. “We are very young and need to get more varsity experience. We need game time to make better basketball decisions.”
    The Shiretowners were led in scoring by Bouchard with 16, followed by Dan Howe, Doug Dickison and Nick Guiod, each with six points. Dan Swallow had five points, while Crockett and Jake Drew each had a basket.
    For Lee, Johnson pumped in 18 points, while Sam Brown and Jasil Elder each had 10 points. Haris Karagic and Brad Kong finished with six points apiece.
    The Shiretowners picked up their second win of the year, 63-42, last Tuesday in Millinocket.
    “We did better with taking care of the ball,” said Moran. “I thought we moved the ball better in the half court. But, foul shooting continues to be a problem and in a closer game, it may cost us.”
    Moran said that Swallow and Drew both had solid performances, as “Dan did a nice job defensively,” and “Jake played well at the point guard spot for us, as he kept he ball moving and did also did a nice job defensively.”
    Bouchard once again had a “great all-around game for us,” noted Moran.
    Bouchard finished with 26 points, while Swallow tossed in 10 more.
    The Shiretowners will host Caribou tonight at 7 p.m., with the junior varsity contest at 5:30 p.m. and then they will host Schenck on Friday at 7 p.m., with j.v.s at 5:30 p.m.
    “This week is a tough one,” Moran said. “These teams will play good defense and have lots of ball pressure. We need to play well to beat them. We need to [play better] defense and take care of the ball.”