One Hundred and 13 Points
YUP
Oh boy. Where to start?
I guess we'll start with the game I went to. If you watch closely, you can see where I forget someone's name.
The Lincoln Academy boys and Belfast boys both entered the game 5-3 and with somewhat similar playoff aspirations. Both will likely be playoff teams. Lincoln is hoping to stay out of the play-in (they can probably go as high as 4th) and Belfast will very likely be in the play-in, but they still have a lot of work to do to complete the turnaround from last year's 1-17.
Belfast started strong, racing out to an 14-7 lead before Lincoln made some adjustments. They worked. The Eagles went on a 23-6 run across the first and second quarters. From there, they were pretty much in control the rest of the way, holding onto a 10-point lead, give or take a couple.
Belfast had chances late to make it a game, but were unable to convert and Lincoln Academy won 66-50. Chase Coffin led the Eagles with 26. Kaiden Benjamin had 17 in the losing effort.
New this year, I'm doing live stats of games I go to, assuming there's enough of an wifi connection. This is available for paid subscribers, both live and the archived box scores.
Lucas McNelly
So, like, upgrade.
Meanwhile, a little further north.
One hundred and thirteen points. Wow.
Mattanawcook was 6th in scoring coming into this game at 68.1 and Lee Academy was 104th in scoring defense, so a big number was probably to be expected, but I don't think anyone was expecting this.
For the Lynx, Andrew Oliver led the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. Kooper McCarthy added 22 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Both players exited after 3 quarters, so before you go calling the MPA and making an international incident out of it, at least keep that in mind.
Me, I would have kept them in to get the triple-double
Speaking of triple-doubles, Hodgdon sophomore Cyran Ciarlegio stayed in long enough to score 26 points, haul down 20 boards, dish 10 assists, and grab 7 steals for good measure in a win over Fort Kent.
Let's go to Central Aroostook, where the Panthers are clinging to a 3-point lead.
video courtesy of WHOU
That's Madawaska Middle/High School's Quinn Pelletier, with the emphasis on Middle School because he's still in the 8th grade.
Pelletier wasn't done. He scored all of Madawaska's points in overtime, finishing with 30 on the night, including Madawaska's final 20 as they prevailed, 57-53.
Again, 8th grade.
Jon Ouellette
I don't post a lot of middle school videos on here, but this is an exception. Let's go to Troy Howard Middle School (that's Belfast), where the Medomak 7th graders are tied with Troy Howard with a second left in overtime.
That's Brayden McNelly (who just happens to be my nephew) with the pass to Brayson Shorey, who called GAME.
I don't care what grade it is, that's a great buzzer-beater.
And then there's this full-court heave.
If you've got a buzzer-beater, send it my way!
Elsewhere:
Ethan Linkletter had 23 & 9 in Madison's win over Monmouth...Owen Smith scored 22 for Dirigo, but he was no match for Maranacook's Jack Fontaine, who went off for 37 in a win...Oak Hill got 23 from Braden Dubuc, but it wasn't enough to beat Brennan Mitchell and Bryce Wilcox, who scored 17 each for Mt. Abram...Zaden Steele's clutch free throw with 4.6 seconds left gave Richmond a win over Wiscasset. The Wolverines were led by Landin Shirley's 26...Buckfield rallied down 11 to force overtime behind Trenton Haskell, but Telstar prevailed after 2 extra periods. Brody Morgan led the way with 26 for Telstar...Valley's Kamdyn Conrad had 22 in a blowout win over North Haven...Ella Kenney had 19 in GNG's win over Westbrook...Schenck's Lidia Matarazzo drilled 8 3's for 32 points against Southern Aroostook...The Valley girls led North Haven 28-0 after 1. Liana Hartwell led the way with 15...Lily Oliver had 26 as Fort Kent moved to 8-1.
Kids, keep in mind the people who will be viewing your highlight tapes.
Recruiting advice for HS players! (Highlights)
— Steve Carey (@coachcarey724) January 6, 2025
Film needs to be easily viewable - often it is too hard to see, too far away, too dark, or can’t opened full view.
Be mindful of the music you use. I like all kinds but some have been so vulgar I just stop watching.
And if you're making a cut just for Steve, can I recommend polka?
Well this is an easy one.
South Portland and Windham have long been pegged as the two teams to beat in AA (along with Cheverus).
Windham, led by Creighty Dickson, is the defending champs. They're 8-0 on the season so far with the 6th best %Perfect in the state. They lead AA in scoring offense and are second in AA in +/-. They're really, really good.
South Portland's scoring stats aren't as impressive, but they've played the 7th hardest schedule in the state. They're led by Manny Hidalgo, who is one of the 5 best players I've seen so far this year.
If I could get there in time after work, I'd be there. Because this game could be awesome.
The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump.