BANGOR, Maine- In the final game of the Northern regional tournament, the Houlton Shiretowners build a comfortable first half lead and then added on to it in the second half on Saturday night, en route to a 54-34 win over the George Stevens Academy Eagles in a Maine Principals’ Association Class C boys North regional final basketball game played at the Cross Insurance Center.
GSA (18-4) only had the lead once in the game, on two early baskets from Isaac Wardwell to make it 4-0. A quick timeout by Tim Brewer was followed up by two Nolan Porter three point shots to put Houlton in the lead for good. The Shires led 13-8 after the opening eight minutes. Keegan Gentle then scored eight of his teams 13 second quarter points to build the Shires lead to 11, and Houlton led 25-15 at the halftime break.
George Stevens could not get it kickstarted offensively, and two more three pointers from Porter along with four points off the bench from Caleb Solomon built the Houlton lead to as many as 18 in the third quarter. After trailing by 20 early in the fourth, GSA made one more run to try to get back in the game. A 10-2 run helped by two baskets from Mike Moon off the bench cut the deficit to 46-34 halfway through the quarter. The Shires didn’t bend though and scored the last eight points, and secured a spot in the Class C state title game next Saturday night.
K. Gentle finished with 18 points and six rebounds for 18-4 Houlton. Porter added 14 points and five rebounds (4 three-pointers). Solomon also had six points off the bench. George Stevens Academy was led by Wardwell with 14 points. The loss also snaps a three year run of regional championship titles for the Eagles, who had also won the last three state titles in boys Class C.
Houlton now will face South champion Winthrop in the Class C boys state title game next Saturday night March 2nd at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor at 8:45 pm. The Shires are back in the state title game for the first time since 2014, when they defeated Waynflete 58-56.
Members of the Houlton boys basketball team celebrate after their Class C North regional title win over George Stevens Academy on February 23, 2019. Photo by Anthony DelMonaco (click to enlarge)
HOU 13 12 15 14- 54
GSA 8 7 9 10- 34
Rebounds- Houlton 31 GSA 13
Free throws- Houlton 6-10 GSA 8-14
Turnovers- Houlton 5 GSA 12
