The weather was cold outside Saturday afternoon and evening, but inside Hermon High the action was heating up as the Hermon Hawks hosted a girls and boy basketball doubleheader against Presque Isle.
In the girls contest, Caitlyn Tracy came off the bench to score 18 points, as the Hermon Hawks stayed unbeaten at 5-0 holding off a late Presque Isle rally for a 54-47 win.
After a tight first quarter that was even at 14 a piece, both teams made runs in the second. Hermon scored the first four points to make it 18-14, before a 7-0 PI run put the Wildcats up 21-18. The Hawks scored the last five points of first half to take a 23-21 lead at halftime. Hermon increased the lead to their largest in the fourth quarter at 43-31, before Emily Wheaton (12 fourth quarter points) and Presque Isle rallied late, but just fell short and dropping their record to 3-2.
Lauren Plissey added 17 points and five rebounds for Hermon, while Maddie Pullen added 10 points and four rebounds. Wheaton ended with 25 points to lead Presque Isle. Madison Jandreau added 12 points.
Hermon will host Orono Tuesday night at 7 p.m., while Presque Isle hosts Houlton Thursday night at 7.
Presque Isle (47)
Moreau 0-1-1, Rodriguez 1-0-2, Thompson 0-2-2, Michaud 1-0-2, Castonguay 1-0-3, Jandreau 4-0-12, Wheaton 7-6-25, Skidgel, Kingsbury
Three point goals: Wheaton 5, Jandreau 4, Castonguay
Free throws: 7-9
Hermon (54)
Chasse 1-0-3, P. Plissey 1-3-6, Pullen 4-0-10, L.Plissey 4-9-17, Tracy 9-0-18, Allain, Curtis, Page
Three point goals: Pullen 2, Chasse, P. Plissey
Free throws: 12-19
PI (3-2) 14 7 8 18- 47
HH (5-0) 14 9 12 19- 54
In the boys game, Hermon had to work extra but also stayed unbeaten by knocking off Presque Isle 60-56 in overtime.
In a very tight hotly contested game, Hermon led 29-24 at the half. The Hawks took their biggest lead when Isaac Varney completed a conventional three point play in the third quarter to make it 39-31. Presque Isle made a 7-0 run on a basket by Griffin Guerrette, a three pointer by Jason Dumais, and two foul shots from Jonah Hudson.
Hermon extended back to a 45-40 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Kennan Marseille alley ooped a pass to Varney who slammed it down. A 10-2 run by the Wildcats though gave Presque Isle a 50-47 lead with 3:45 left. The next three minutes went back and forth. With the game tied at 54 and under 30 seconds left, it looked as if Hermon was holding for the final shot. But Presque Isle forced a turnover. After the ball was inbounded, the Hawks forced a jump ball to give them another chance at the win with 17 seconds left. Marseille missed a jump shot as time expired, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Hermon (5-0) connected on 6-8 from the foul line for all their overtime points. Marseille made two with 37 seconds left that were the game winning points, while Jordan Bishop added two more with just over 20 seconds left to seal it.
Varney finished with 22 points for the Hawks. Bishop added 14, while Marseille ended with 13. Hermon will host Orono Wednesday at 7 p.m. Presque Isle (4-2), was led by Guerrette who had 26 points. Hudson chipped in 13, while Dumais had 11. The Wildcats host Belfast next Friday at 4:30 p.m.
Presque Isle (56)
Wheaton 1-0-2, Cyr 2-0-4, Dumais 4-0-11, Hudson 4-3-13, Guerrette 10-3-26, Bonville, Beaulieu, C. Paterson, A. Paterson, Sjoberg
Three point goals: Dumais 3, Hudson 2, Guerrette
Free throws: 6-8
Hermon (60)
Godfrey 0-2-2, C. Hawes 1-0-2, Trask 3-0-7, Marseille 5-2-13, Bishop 3-8-14, Varney 8-6-22, T. Hawes, Bergeron
Three point goals: Trask, Marseille
Free throws: 18-24
PI (4-2) 14 10 16 14 2- 56
HH (5-0) 14 15 14 11 6- 60
