Defense helps Houlton cruise to 13-1 record

Sure, the Houlton Shiretowners are averaging more than 66 points per game through their 13-1 start this winter.

But it’s defense that has been at the core of their latest seven-game winning streak. Since suffering a 65-61 loss at Calais on Jan. 3, Houlton has allowed just 39 points per game, with a high of 44.

“We’ve been really focusing on the defense every day in practice,” said Shiretowners’ 6-foot-6 sophomore Mark Socoby.

That defense has been most in evidence during Houlton’s last two games. Last Saturday, coach Sean Callahan’s club avenged its only loss with a 49-37 victory over Calais. On Monday night, the Shiretowners earned one of their biggest road win of the season with a 43-41 victory over Stearns at Millinocket.

“We were talking about that earlier, that even though we were 12-1 going into [the Stearns game] and had beaten Presque Isle on the road and gotten revenge against Calais at home, we really didn’t have many quality road wins,” said Callahan. “This was a good win for us.”

The Shiretowners – who have been playing without injured starter Dustin Edwards for more than two weeks – feature two of the region’s more versatile big men in Socoby and 6-foot-6 junior Leif O’Connell.

O’Connell showed scoring range from the low post to beyond the 3-point arc in scoring a team-high 19 points against Stearns.

Socoby amassed 14 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots against the Minutemen, and made the game’s decisive defensive play in the final seconds.

“I wish I had two of him,” said Callahan of Socoby, who leads Houlton in scoring at 20.7 points per game. “Sometimes we have a hard time getting the ball to him in the post, because he’s also our best passer.

“Defensively we use him sort of like a Larry Bird. He doesn’t necessarily guard the other teams’ best players, but we let him hang around and put out fires when they strike.”