BANGOR- Charlie Houghton had a game-high 24 points and finished with a double double on Tuesday night, in leading the Dirigo Cougars to a 65-58 Maine Principals’ Association Class C boys state championship victory over the Calais Blue Devils in a game played at the Cross Insurance Center.
Houghton scored 17 in the first half alone, as Dirigo only trailed once (2-0) in the first 16 minutes of action. After trailing by as many as eight, Calais went on an 8-0 run late in the first half to tie it 30-30 on a basket from Evan Gillespie. Trent Holman ended that run with a basket of his own and gave the Cougars a 32-30 halftime lead. The Blue Devils scored the first five points of the third quarter, and took their first lead since it was 2-0 when Jace Cook hit a three-pointer to make it 35-32. Calais had a three point lead a second time, before Dirigo battled back to to take a pair of two point leads. The game was even at 48-48 heading to the fourth. The Devils led for a final time on a Gillespie basket to open the final period. A 9-0 Cougars run on a basket by Houghton, a three-pointer by Holman, and then two free throws and another basket by Houghton put Dirigo in control 57-50. Calais made one more charge, as a layup by Jeremy Turner off a pass from Gillespie sliced it to 59-58 with 1:45 left to play but that was their final points. A Houghton bucket and four free throws down the stretch after some empty Blue Devils possessions iced it for the Cougars.
Houghton had 11 rebounds to go along with his game-high point total in the win. Trenton Hutchinson also had a big game with 17 points, three assists, and three steals as him and Houghton combined for 12 of their teams 17 points in the fourth quarter. Also scoring for the Cougars was Airick Richard with seven points, six for Austin Adams, five for Holman, four for Dakota Tompkins, and two points for Nathaniel Wainwright as they end their season at 21-1 and now have won back to back state titles with their fifth gold ball overall. Calais was led by Gillespie and Jacob Sockabasin who had 12 points each in the loss. Cook had 10 points and Turner added nine. Also in the scorebook for the Blue Devils was Alex Richard with eight points, five for Kaden Small, and two for Matt Dana as they end their season at 18-4. They had been seeking their first state championship since 2015 when they defeated Dirigo 57-43.
Recap by Gabe Nason/Edited and posted by Chris Lessner/Featured photo by Anthony DelMonaco/Videos by Marc Calnan and Chris Lessner
