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Houlton Shiretown Boys
Claim Their First Ever Gold Ball |
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reprinted from The Houlton Pioneer Times |
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(Mar 05, 2004): By Gloria Austin,
Staff Writer
The Houlton High School boy’s
basketball team etched their own chapter in school history by capturing the
state Class C crown.
It was history in the making last Saturday night at the Augusta
Civic Center, as sophomore Mark Socoby piloted the Shiretowners to a 64-49
victory over Jay, claiming the first-ever gold ball for the boy’s team.
“It’s crazy,” said Socoby during the victory celebration. “God helped us out
so much. We are just thanking Him about this.”
The last time a Houlton High School boys’ team reached the state
game was in 1930.
Socoby finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots and
three assists, but his play was complemented by Jordan Hill’s 10 points and
the team’s defensive effort late in the second half. "You hope you can get
in the ‘zone,’ but it only comes along once in awhile,” Socoby said. “So,
you take advantage of it like we did tonight.”
Leading by two points at halftime, the Shiretowners were once again
staggering in the early stages of the third quarter. The Tigers forged a
22-12 scoring run, as the Shires faced a nine-point deficit with 3:29 left
in the third.
The run was sparked by Jay’s Justin Wells after 6-5 Sean Fry went
down with an ankle injury.
“You never like to see that injury,” Socoby said. “But, I think that pumped
them up a little bit more than they were.”
The Tigers took their biggest lead of the game, 38-29, connecting
for four 3-pointers in the quarter. “We just had to get a hand in the
three-point shooters’ face,” said Hill. “What was putting them out on top
was sticking threes and we weren’t quite getting out quick enough. When we
started going on our run, we were getting a hand in their face on those
threes and they weren’t dropping anymore.”
Jay’s Fry returned to the game, but essentially was ineffective and
struggled with foul trouble.
“He’s a good player,” Socoby said of Jay’s center. “He has long arms and
long legs. Getting him into foul trouble was really crucial. When he got
into foul trouble, it allowed us to do more on the offensive end.”
The Shiretowners determined not to let the game slip away, as
Socoby gave Adam Miles a pass down low for a score with a minute remaining.
Then, Jay spread the court and looked for the last shot. The plan backfired.
The Tigers shot too soon. On the missed shot, Socoby hauled in the rebound
and dribbled the ball to midcourt where he spotted Hill, drilling a pass to
him for a lay-up. On the next play, things went from bad to worse for Jay,
as they turned the ball over after an inbounds play. Socoby capitalized on
the blunder, sending up a
fade away three-pointer at the buzzer to draw the Shiretowners to within a
point, 43-42.
As Jay struggled from the field in the final quarter, not making a
field goal until the 1:30 mark, the Shiretowners boosted their momentum.
Houlton’s Adam Miles (five points, seven rebounds) tied the game on a
free throw, and Socoby’s baseline jumper with 7:05 left gave the
Shiretowners a two-point lead, which sparked a 16-2 scoring run. Houlton
finished the period by outscoring Jay 22-6.
“We just wanted to come out playing hard and keep competing,” Socoby said
of his team’s attitude. “We came out to win.”
Socoby came up big in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points. Jay’s Fry
fouled out with 2:09 left, sending Socoby to the charity stripe for a pair.
He hit both and on the next play, he returned to the line for two more to
give Houlton a 58-45 advantage with 1:41 left in the game.
Socoby went 16 of 18 from the line in the contest. “I struggled earlier
in the year,” Socoby explained. “I was around 60 percent. I got in the gym
and did some extra hours and it definitely paid off here.”
Before his mini free throw clinic, Socoby hit a jumper and made a lay-up
and fed Brett Miles for another lay-up. With 44 seconds showing, Miles
repaid Socoby with an alley-oop to cap off the game.
Hill finished the night with 10 points and worked hard defensively to
neutralize Jay’s front line, along with Socoby and Adam Miles.
The Shiretowners rolled to a 13-6 lead with 1:31 left in the opening
quarter behind Dustin Edwards’ three-pointer, two straight jumpers from
Brett Miles and Hill’s low post score for a 9-2 surge.
Jay tried to make up ground, but Edwards and Socoby had back-to-back
blocks to foil their attempts to start the second quarter. The Shiretowners
did not score a field goal in the next eight minutes of play, instead they
went 6 of 8 from the foul line for their only points.
With starting guards Brett Miles and Danny Bartlett battling foul
trouble, Jay made their move, closing to within two points, 22-20, behind
Wells’ three-pointer and Farrington’s free throws.
Fry had 11 first-half points, accounting for 10 of Jay’s first-quarter
points and finishing with 13 points for the game. Marc Kelvey, who fouled
out late in the fourth, chipped in with 10 points.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hill said of his team’s feat. “At the first practice
and all year when we got in the huddle it was one, two, three
Augusta." That’s where we wanted to go and to come out on top is
unbelievable. And, to hold the gold ball up for all these fans is an awesome
feeling.”
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