The AA Round-Up: January 9th, 2024

One unbeaten remains.

Boys: Cheverus 51, Gorham 37

The Rams' (8-1) first game away from Gorham since December 18th started off about as badly as you could think, with only 2 points at the end of one quarter.

They didn't make a shot from the field in the first, Ashton Leclerc's two free throws late in the period were the only time they connected with the bottom of the net.

Sammy Nzeyimana and Shema Rwaganje led a stifling Cheverus (9-2) defense that forced bad shots and a season low 4 made threes for the visiting Rams.

Leo McNabb paced the Stags and all scorers with 19 points. Caden Smith led Gorham with 16.

Windham 59, Falmouth 41

Windham (9-0) is the only remaining undefeated squad in all of AA. They've beat Cheverus and Portland, the two teams below them in the North, got past Scarborough (#2 in AA South), and pulled away from Falmouth (#2 in A South, 7-2) last night.

Blake McPherson continued his hot streak, leading the Eagles with 19 points. Tyrie James added 10.

Windham held Chris Simonds to only 12 points. They've shut me up all season after I questioned in the preseason how they would handle bigs around the state without a true Center on their roster.

Portland 58, Deering 51

Drew Veilleaux's 15 points (3 3PM) helped lead Portland (7-2) past the Evan Legassey-less Deering Rams (4-6).

The Bulldogs had 4 players in double figures, including 13 and 12 from Kevin Rugabirwa and Cordell Jones, respectively.

Once again, the Rams play a AA powerhouse tough but fall just short. They're a +4 on the season despite their record. It just feels like they're one year away.

Elsewhere... Spencer Booth dominated Edward Little on his way to 21 points... Noble beat TA 80-74... South Portland made it 2 wins in a row vs Sanford... and that's it for what was a light schedule on a rainy/snowy Tuesday evening.

Edward Little's Bim Gibson celebrated his 500th game on the mic last night. They got him a commemorative basketball for the occasion, which I think is a really nice gesture.