The AA Round-Up: January 4th, 2024

Boys: Gorham 84, Sanford 55

Will Gorham (7-0) ever miss from behind the arc? Ashton Leclerc and Caden Smith sank 5 3's apiece on their way to identical 19 point performances in their route of Sanford last night.

This one was over before the halftime buzzer.

Gorham held the Spartans (5-3) to 2 points in the second quarter aside from a half-court shot at the horn from Makai Bougie, who led Sanford with 12.

I wasn't in the booth for this one, so I almost missed the fact that they hit 19 3's. That's almost 65% of their points coming courtesy of the deep shot.

Boys: Scarborough 62, Thornton Academy 37

The Golden Trojans (6-3) continue their mid-season skid. They were once again without Josh Ney and Trey Eldred due to illness, so you can take the score with a grain of salt, but those two aren't going to fix an 11-to-2 3PM advantage for the Red Storm (6-1).

Scarborough didn't have a player score more than 12 points in this one, but six players score 6+.

Carter Blanche and Nate Glidden scored their 12 points in polar opposite ways. Blanche connected from deep four times for his only four buckets, while Glidden hit five 2s and two free throws.

Early in the season, the talk of AA was how deep and versatile Cheverus was. Scarborough flew under the radar, but they have a similar amount of depth and players that fit their roles perfectly.

Gorham and Scarborough matchup in a Saturday afternoon contest worth a boatload of heal points in AA South. Additionally, Scarborough sent Gorham home on their home court in the quarterfinal last season. It's going to be electric.

Girls: Scarborough 59, Thornton Academy 40

There's a new number 1 in AA South. Gorham held the title for two days after they downed the Trojans (6-3), last night it was Scarborough (7-1) who jumped up into the top seed.

Thornton has missed sophomore guard Kylie Lamson badly. Without a strong perimeter shooter other than Addisen Sulikowski, the Red Storm could pack the paint. They regularly sent triple teams to the block to slow Emma Lizotte down, and it worked. They held her to only 11 points.

Scarborough was on fire from deep, hitting 11 threes. Emerson Flaker paced them with 16, and Helena Bukarac nailed three 3's.

Scarborough also sees #2 Gorham Saturday afternoon.

Girls: Cheverus 58, Oxford Hills 54

The reigning champs gave unbeaten Cheverus (8-0) a scare, but Megan Dearborn's late three pointer closed the door on an upset.

The Stags got 20 points from Maddie Fitzpatrick and 12 points from Dearborn.

Oxford Hills (3-5) has been swept by Cheverus this season, but last time out was a 29 point loss. A 4 point loss solidifies the thought that they're stepping in the right direction.

Elsewhere...

Boys

Evan Legassey and Justin Jamal poured in 17 and 16, respectively, in Deering's 57-47 victory over South Portland (1-6)...Leo McNabb, Gio St. Onge, and Rocco Depatsy all put up 12 point effort's as Cheverus beat Oxford Hills... Tyrie James and Abdirahman Dakane both dropped 23 for opposing sides, James and Windham moved to 7-0 over Dakane and Lewiston (1-8).

Girls

South Portland held Bonny Eagle to only 17 points all night...Sanford jumped out to a 24-0 lead over winless Noble and never relinquished it, moving to 5-3.

On Saturday, the Game of the Day will most likely be Gorham/Scarborough (Boys or Girls, you pick) but the Portland boys visit Windham at 2:30 and that's a clash of #1 vs #3 in AA North. Could certainly be the most entertaining game AA sees tomorrow.