Shires use full-team effort to knock off higher seed
BANGOR, Maine — The Houlton boys basketball team picked a good time to put together its best game of the season.
No. 7 Houlton (10-10 overall) played tenacious defense, showed poise under pressure on the offensive side of the ball, and had a remarkable day shooting from the floor to pull off a remarkable, 69-52, victory over No. 2 Sumner (16-3) Monday in the Class C quarterfinals.
Houlton advances to Friday’s semifinal round, where the Shires will face No. 6 Mattanawcook Academy (15-5) at 2:05 p.m. It was a day of upsets as the Lynx knocked off No. 3 Calais, 62-51, in the first game of the morning Tuesday, setting up a No. 6 versus No. 7 semifinal.
Four players scored in double figures for the Shires, marking the first time that has happened all season. Nick Guiod led the Shires with 18 points, while Kyle Bouchard added 16 and Elyjah Crocket and Kole Buzzeo had 10 each.
Gabe O’Brien paced Sumner with 22 points, while Tyler Martin added 16.
“It’s a great feeling for sure,” said Bouchard, a 6-foot, 4-inch freshman. “We’ve had to deal with a lot of adversity this year, to get here (Bangor) and to win is awesome.”
For Crockett, a 6-4 sophomore, Tuesday’s game marked the first action he has seen since injuring his leg during a Jan. 2 game against Lee Academy.
“I was out for 10 games, sitting on the bench and I tried my best to cheer on my teammates, but honestly, I was feeling pretty crappy,” Crockett said. “Now that I am back, and here in Bangor, it’s unreal. It’s something you don’t realize until you step out onto that floor.”
Crockett said he dedicated Tuesday’s game to his father, Jeremiah, who is battling a rare form of cancer and was unable to be at the game.
The key to victory, according to Houlton coach Rob Moran was simple.
“We kept our composure and played really good half-court defense,” he said. “That’s the name of the game for us. We handled the ball pretty well and ran good offense. It helps that we made some big shots. When you can do that, it makes everything better.”
Houlton started out sluggish after scoring the game’s opening basket on a Bouchard jumper. Sumner took an 8-4 lead later in the period as many of Houlton’s 3-point attempts were off the mark. That is until Guiod drained a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to give the Shires a 13-10 lead at the end of the first stanza.
The hot hands continued for Houlton in the second period as the 3-pointers started to rain down for Houlton. Guiod sank a pair of treys while Bouchard and Buzzeo both had one to help the Shires take a 33-21 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Shire Dan Swallow probably had one of the best plays that many didn’t notice. With 6:23 to play, Swallow was looking to inbound the ball, but couldn’t find an open teammate. Instead, he bounced the ball off the backside of a Sullivan player, stepped inbound, grabbed the ball and raced to set up the offense.
Houlton managed to avoid foul trouble and pushed its lead to 49-35 after three quarters.
In the final period, the Shires kept their cool as Sumner made a last-ditch effort to get back into the game, cutting the lead to 10 at two points in the frame. But that was as close as the Tigers would get as Houlton made six of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
