Page 7 - Newsletter_Spring_2019

Houlton.

“We got beat up on the glass a little bit and we missed a few foul shots and we still [were] in the game,” Brewer said.
“I don’t know what more I could have asked of my kids. ey battled all night.”

Junior Keegan Gentle was the catalyst for Houlton with a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Senior Nick
Brewer tallied 14 points and seven rebounds and freshman Caleb Solomon came off the bench to provide 10 points.

e Shires went 18-for-52 (35 percent) from the fl oor while trying to attack and get into the paint as often as
possible.”

“ ey’re a physical team that works their tails off and they’re tough,” MacArthur said of Houlton.

“ ey really took us out of what we wanted to do early on,” he added.

It was still a two-point game after Nick Brewer scored on an off ensive rebound in the fourth to cut Winthrop’s lead
to 43-41. But after a timeout, the Ramblers started to click.

Winthrop’s Nate Leblanc opened a key stretch with a
3-pointer from up top, then Cam Hachey drained a
3 from the right wing with 3:16 left to make it 49-
41. Brewer countered with a steal and a basket for
Houlton, but Wood scored underneath off his own
miss and Jared McLaughlin hit a 10-footer to give
Winthorp a 53-43 advantage with only 1:47 to play.

e Ramblers put the game out of reach from the foul
line.

“We lacked some size, but they’re a good team and they
really shot the ball well in the second half,” Keegan
Gentle said.

e Shiretowners rode their gritty defense to a 24-20
halftime lead, making Winthrop work for its inside Houlton’s Nick Brewer ’19 twirls the net in victory following the Shires
54-34 win over George Stevens Academy February 23rd at the
points and contesting perimeter shots. Winthrop Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. (photo courtesy of Joseph Cyr ’89,
outrebounded Houlton 20-10 in the half. Houlton Pioneer Times)

Houlton worked the ball patiently against the Ramblers’ man-to-man defense and was able to attack the basket off
the dribble and fi nd some shooting room outside.

Houlton received a boost off the bench from Solomon, who sandwiched 3-pointers 38 seconds apart around a close-
range bucket by Winthrop’s Wood to help the Shires grab a 24-18 lead late in the half.

However, the Ramblers re-established an inside-out approach early in the second half, which helped them get into
sync and regain the lead for good.

Gentle earns BDN boys tourney MVP nod

e Bangor Daily News named their 2019 North regional all-tournament boys basketball teams for Classes B, C
and D in late February. Houlton’s junior guard Keegan Gentle was the recipient of the William C. Warner Most
Valuable Player award for Class C.

e North all-tournament teams for Classes B, C and D were chosen by media, tourney offi cials and Maine
Principals’ Association representatives in attendance at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Gentle led Houlton through a dominant run to its fi rst Class C regional crown since 2014 as the Shiretowners
defeated their three opponents at the Cross Insurance Center by a combined 76 points.

www.houltonalumni.com PAGE 7