Yarmouth’s Ashanti Haywood defends Greely’s Zach Brown during the Rangers’ 45-34 victory Monday night.

North Yarmouth Academy’s Jack Lent competes in the senior 400 at a league meet last weekend. Lent was fifth.

(Ed. Note: For the complete Greely-Yarmouth boys’ basketball game story, see theforecaster.net)

The month of January and the winter sports regular season are halfway done and good times continue for local squads.

With the midway pole in the rearview mirror, here’s a look at where things stand:

Boys’ basketball

All five local boys’ basketball teams are in the middle of the playoff hunt.

Two-time defending Class A champion Greely lost twice last week, 57-51 at York and after beating visiting Freeport (75-61), at home to Class AA North contender Oxford Hills (59-57). Against the Wildcats, Andrew Storey had 22 points and Logan Bagshaw added 13. In the win, Storey had 26 points, Bagshaw added 16, Luke Gabloff had 14 and Zack Brown finished with 10. Against the Vikings, Bagshaw had 25 points and Storey added 18, but a Bagshaw 3 for the win was off-target.

“We had the guy, the right guy, with the ball in his hands, and the shot that we drew up,” said Rangers coach Travis Seaver. “So we executed it, just didn’t fall.”

Monday, Greely improved to 8-3 and first in the Class A South Heal Points standings after a 45-34 victory at Yarmouth. Bagshaw led the way with 15 points, while Brown and Storey each added eight.

“Whatever I can do to help the team is better than nothing,” said Brown, who is returning from a hand injury. “Even if I’m not scoring, I’m trying to be more of a facilitator.”

“We take losses as a positive and learn from our mistakes and get better from it,” Bagshaw said. “(Yarmouth) tried to speed us up, but we stayed composed.”

“We’re a different team this year,” added Seaver. “I think we’ve always done a good job taking it one game at a time. We’ve had to rebound (from losses) more than other years and we’ll continue to do so.” 

The Rangers are at Fryeburg Academy Friday and visit Westbrook in a regional final rematch Tuesday.

Falmouth was 9-2 and third in Class A South following wins over host Westbrook (60-39) and visiting Massabesic (51-24). The Yachtsmen got 15 points from Nikko Pitre and a dozen apiece from Brady Coyne and Nik Hester against the Blue Blazes. In the win over the Mustangs, Hester had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Mike Simonds added 12 points. Falmouth was home with Class AA South power Thornton Academy Tuesday and goes to Biddeford Monday.

In Class B South, Freeport was 8-2 and third behind Maranacook and Gray-New Gloucester following a 75-61 loss at Greely and a 49-44 home win over Mt. Ararat last week. In the setback, Gabe Wagner scored 21 points and Toby Holt added 14. In the victory, Wagner led the way with 19 points and the Falcons made 10 foul shots in the final quarter.

“That second half especially we just tried to put a lot of pressure on them defensively just to get those transition points,” said Wagner. “I think roughly during practice we all take at least 20 free throws, maybe even more to make sure we hit those.”

“This was nice because the other day against Greely we didn’t shoot our free throws well,” said Freeport coach Bill Ridge. “It’s nice to have that confidence moving forward.”

The Falcons hosted Cape Elizabeth Tuesday, welcome Yarmouth Friday and go to Waynflete Tuesday of next week (see theforecaster.net for game stories). 

Yarmouth was 4-7 and sixth in Class B South after a 46-44 home win over Cape Elizabeth, a 43-42 home loss to Gray-New Gloucester, a 64-33 victory at Lake Region and Monday’s 45-34 home loss to Greely. Against the Capers, Ashanti Haywood had 13 points, Aidan Hickey added nine and Noah Eckersley-Ray grabbed 17 rebounds. Haywood had 15 points in the loss to the Patriots. Against the Lakers, Eckersley-Ray led the way with 18 points and Aidan Hickey added 14. In the loss to the Rangers, Haywood had a team-high 11 points.

“We played hard,” said Yarmouth coach Jonas Allen, following the loss to Greely. “Our defense is keeping us in games. To hold Greely to 45 points, there’s no shame in that, but we were 0-for-15 from the 3-point line. Combine that with too many turnovers and we also gave up some offensive rebounds. You’re never going to beat Greely scoring 34 points.”

Yarmouth was at Waynflete Wednesday, visits Freeport Friday and goes to Cape Elizabeth (see theforecaster.net for game stories).

In Class C South, North Yarmouth Academy was 5-4 and eighth after wins at Pine Tree Academy (65-44) and at home over St. Dom’s (57-31) and a 62-42 home loss to Poland. Against the Breakers, Chris Hamblett had a team-high 18 points and Te’Andre King added 12. In the win over the Saints, King had 23 points, Hamblett added 16 and Cooper Hogan finished with 11. Against the Knights, King scored 16 points. The Panthers welcomed Traip Academy Wednesday, go to Seacoast Christian Friday and welcome Buckfield Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ basketball

On the girls’ side, defending state champion Greely remained undefeated after downing visiting York (65-28), host Freeport (79-41) and visiting Oxford Hills (69-67) last week, as well as visiting Yarmouth (86-41) Monday to improve to 12-0 and first in the Class A South Heals. In the win over the Wildcats, Anna DeWolfe led the way with 26 points while Camille Clement added 16. Against the Falcons, DeWolfe had 30 points, Clement added 22 and Katie Fitzpatrick scored 13.

“It starts with defense for us,” Rangers coach Todd Flaherty said. “We use the word disrupt a lot and blow people’s offenses up if we can, and I think we did a good job with that.”

Greely built a 20-point lead and barely held on to beat the Vikings behind 26 points apiece from Clement and DeWolfe and 10 from Julia Martel. 

“I think we kind of let up a little bit in the third quarter,” DeWolfe said. “I just remember looking up in the fourth and seeing that we’re only up by four points. It kind of snuck up on all of us, I think.”

“We missed a few shots, too, that we normally hit that might have extended the lead at one time, and gave them plenty of opportunity,” Flaherty said. “And then we had a few turnovers that, you know, cost us too.”

In the win over the Clippers, the Rangers were led by DeWolfe with 35 points. Clement added 26. Greely goes to NYA Friday and hosts Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

Falmouth got in the win column for the first time last week. After falling at home to Westbrook (53-39) and at Massabesic (40-32), the Yachtsmen improved to 1-10 Saturday with a 44-35 home victory over Cape Elizabeth. Chelsea Gravier had 15 points against in the Mustangs and in the win, she tallied nine points, as did Allie Cunningham. Natalie Birkel added eight. Falmouth (10th in Class A South) was at Thornton Academy Tuesday and hosts Biddeford Monday.

In Class B South, Freeport was 8-2 and third behind Oak Hill and Gray-New Gloucester in the Heals following a 79-41 home loss to Greely and a 45-43 win at Mt. Ararat. Against the Rangers, Caroline Smith led the way with 20 points.

“(Greely’s) so dynamic,” Falcons coach Seth Farrington said. “We missed some offensive layups early, not saying that dictated the outcome of the game, but just getting the ball in the hoop sets us up offensively.”

In the victory, Smith had 23 points, including the decisive free throws.

“This win is big for us,”Smith said. “We’re young, and coming off a tough loss, you want to stop the bleeding.

“This says something about us,” Farrington said. “It’s good to get a win in a tough environment. Part of being a great team is that you have short-term memory.”

Freeport was at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday, hosts Yarmouth Friday (see theforecaster.net for game story) and welcomes Waynflete Tuesday of next week.

Yarmouth fell to 7-5 and fifth in the region after dropping three of its last four. Last week, the Clippers lost at Cape Elizabeth (42-27) and at home to Gray-New Gloucester (42-34) and also beat visiting Lake Region (44-31). Monday, Yarmouth fell at Greely (86-41). In the loss to the Capers, Margaret McNeil had a team-high nine points. Against the Patriots, Hope Olson led the way with 11 points. In the victory, McNeil had 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and Olson added 10. In the loss to the Rangers, Olson had a team-high 16 points. The Clippers play at Freeport Friday and host Cape Elizabeth Monday.

In Class C South, NYA improved to 7-2 and stretched its win streak to five games with a 53-40 home win over St. Dom’s last Thursday. Katie Larson had 14 points, Catherine Reid added a dozen and Helen Hamblett finished with 10. After hosting Traip Academy Wednesday, the Panthers (fourth in the region) welcome Greely Friday and play host to Kents Hill Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ hockey

On the ice, Falmouth’s girls’ hockey team improved to 7-3-2 and second behind Cheverus/Kennebunk in the South Region Heals following Saturday’s 3-2 home win over York. After going to Gorham/Bonny Eagle Wednesday, the Yachtsmen visit Brunswick Saturday and play at Scarborough Monday. 

Yarmouth/Freeport was 9-4 and fourth in the North Region following a 6-1 win at Biddeford/Thornton Academy, a 4-1 setback at Scarborough and a 3-2 overtime win at Gorham/Bonny Eagle. Yarmouth/Freeport hosts St. Dom’s Monday of next week. 

Defending state champion Greely/Gray-New Gloucester was 5-8 and fifth in the North following a 10-1 loss at St. Dom’s Saturday and an 8-2 victory at Brunswick Monday. After hosting Biddeford/TA Saturday, Greely/New Gloucester goes to Cheverus/Kennebunk for a state game rematch Monday and visits Scarborough Wednesday of next week. 

Boys’ hockey

On the boys’ side, Greely was one of four unbeaten teams left in the state at press time. The Rangers improved to 7-0 and first in the Class B South Heals following an 11-4 home win over Maranacook Saturday. Greely’s Andy Moore was named the Class B South December Forward of the Month by the league’s coaches after scoring four goals and adding a dozen assists. The Rangers visit Gorham Saturday and play host to Gardiner Monday (see theforecaster.net for game story). 

Yarmouth played host Scarborough to a 2-2 draw Saturday and is 3-5-1 on the season. Michael Guertler had both Clippers’ goals. Yarmouth (eighth in Class B South) plays host to Gardiner Saturday.

In Class A South, Falmouth fell to 2-6 and seventh in the Heals after home losses last week to two-time defending state champion Lewiston (5-0) and defending regional champion Biddeford (3-2). After welcoming Thornton Academy Tuesday, the Yachtsmen visit Portland/Deering Saturday (see theforecaster.net for game story).

Indoor track

Greely’s boys’ and girls’ teams each finished second behind York in a league track meet last weekend. NYA’s girls were fifth and the boys placed seventh.

In the other Western Maine Conference meet, Yarmouth’s boys and girls each came in third and both Freeport squads finished sixth.

Falmouth’s boys and girls were both third in their Southwestern Maine Activities Association meet.

Swimming

In the pool, Greely swept Thornton Academy last weekend, as the boys prevailed, 61-17, and the girls were victorious, 50-44.

Falmouth swept Massabesic in its meet, with the boys winning, 89-48, and the girls prevailing, 93-76.

Yarmouth’s girls beat Portland, 111-53, and the boys lost to the Bulldogs, 97-70.

Skiing

Freeport was second to Cape Elizabeth and Greely placed third at an Western Maine Conference Alpine ski meet last week at Shawnee Peak. In the girls’ meet, Freeport finished fourth and Greely was fifth.

Monday, in a slalom meet at Shawnee Peak, the Yarmouth girls and Falmouth boys were first in a five-team competition. Falmouth’s girls and Yarmouth’s boys were second, respectively. Freeport’s boys finished third and the Falcons girls placed fourth. 

The Greely girls finished 11th and the boys placed 12th at Saturday’s Nordic Hornet Classic. 

Sun Journal staff writer Wil Kramlich and Times Record writers Eric Maxim and Chris Quattrucci contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @foresports.

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