Exciting boys’ games played on the court

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
With the last week of the regular season being played, the high school boys preliminary games are scheduled to be played on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Teams have pretty much wrapped up their seasons and will await their seeding. Prelim winners will move on to the Eastern Maine Tournament in Bangor, which is Feb. 14-22.    In last week’s action, the Houlton Shiretowners withstood a scare to remain undefeated, 16-0.
In East Millinocket last Friday, Kyle Bouchard racked up 33 points over three quarters to lead the Shires to a 58-48 win.
The game was tied 15-all to start and then Houlton used a 23-10 scoring run in the third to erase a one-point halftime deficit, 30-29.
Daniel Howe chipped in with nine points for the Shires.
For Schenck, Jon Chiasson scored 19 points and Justin Thompson netted 13 more.
The Presque Isle Wildcats were much improved the second time around for the Shiretowners, who took a 65-62 win on the road.
In their last meeting, Houlton won 69-54.
Bouchard led Houlton with 21 points, while Isaac Cone pumped in 15 and Howe added nine more.
For Presque Isle, Bradley Shields scored a game-high 22 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds and recording seven blocks. Cody Lyford tossed in 13.
On Monday in Stacyville, the Easton Bears remain undefeated, 17-0, with a 53-42 win over Katahdin.
The Bears led through the first half of action, 13-4 and 24-12 at halftime. In the third, Easton was ahead, 36-26, but Katahdin played evenly with them in the second half, with Easton outscoring the Cougars by a point, 17-16. In the final minutes, the Bears made 13 of 17 free throws to hold off the Cougars for the win.
Hunter Turner led Easton with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Drew Sotomayer gathered 16 points and went 5 for 6 from the line in the final period.
Nick Lane keyed Katahdin’s offense with 19 points, five assists and three steals.
The Cougars lost to Schenck last Tuesday, 78-63.
The Cougars led through the first-half of play, 17-11 and 36-30. After three, the game was tied, 54-all before Schenck’s Chiasson used an 11-point fourth-quarter effort to lift his team to the win.
Chiasson finished with 21 points, while Ryan Leavitt tossed in a game-high 27 points.
For Katahdin, Wyatt Morse tossed in 17 points before an ankle injury in the third. T.J. Young added 16 points and Lane chipped in with 14 more.
The Washburn Beavers overtook Southern Aroostook on Saturday, 66-53. No details were available at presstime.
Last Thursday, the Warriors lost a heartbreaker to host Hodgdon, 49-46, when Tyler Sherman drained a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left in the contest.
Southern Aroostook led 16-7; 26-19; and 40-35 at the quarter breaks.
Hodgdon’s Sherman took a pass from Deyrell Vargas to lift his team to the win.
Hodgdon’s offense was shouldered by Chris Hudson with 27 points, while Vargas added eight.
For Southern Aroostook, Jackson Mathers scored 14 points and Nolan Altvater posted 11.
In Hodgdon last Tuesday, the Hawks rolled by Fort Fairfield, 66-42.
Hudson finished with 28 points, Vargas tossed in 14 and Sherman chipped in with 11.
For Fort Fairfield, Noah Bernard scored 11 points and Robbie Watson added 10.
The Hawks built an eight-point lead at halftime, 36-28 and then outscored Fort Fairfield, 20-2, in the third en route to the win.
At St. Agatha, the Wisdom Pioneers overtook East Grand, 65-50 on Saturday.
Nathan Boynton led Wisdom with 21 points and 11 boards, while teammate Dominic Roy netted 20 points and brought down 16 rebounds.
For East Grand, Alex Stoddard posted 16 points and Logan Crone chipped in with eight.
Last Wednesday, the Vikings picked up a convincing 71-48 win over GHCA in Danforth.
Crone keyed East Grand’s win with 17 first-quarter points, as the Vikings built a 41-17 halftime cushion and rolled. Crone finished with 24 points, while Kenny Winiarski netted 15 and Phil Farley added 12.
For GHCA, Dana Brown fired in 18 points, while Aaron Holmes dropped in 17 and Ethan Jacques added seven.
On Saturday in Van Buren, the Crusaders overpowered GHCA, 81-22 behind Jake Rioux’s 35 points.
GHCA was led by Jacques’ 13 points.
Last Tuesday, the Eagles were overtaken 87-19 by host Easton.
Leading the Bears was Drew Sotomayor with a game-high 20 points, while Turner tossed in 16 points and Jake Flewelling finished with 10.
Brown led the Eagles with 12 points.