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BANGOR – Early in Saturday night’s Eastern Maine Class C boys basketball final, Mark Socoby walked up the Bangor Auditorium court slapping himself in the head – a visible sign of frustration for a slow start.
“I had made a few mistakes and was just trying to overcome it,” said the 6-foot-6 Houlton sophomore. “I wasn’t nervous, I was just excited to play and I wanted to overcome the mistakes and come out on top.”
By the end of the game, Socoby and the Shiretowners were indeed on top, earning Houlton its first appearance in a boys state championship game since 1930 with a hard-fought 52-47 victory over top-ranked Washington Academy of East Machias.
The second-seeded Shiretowners (19-2) will face Jay for the state title at 8:45 p.m. Saturday night at the Augusta Civic Center. Jay edged Georges Valley of Thomaston 40-38 for the Western C crown.
Socoby showed off his versatility late in the EM final, playing a pivotal role in 12 of Houlton’s last 14 points.
“I was trying to get myself going a little bit, but I was also trying to get my teammates going, because they make me better and I try to make them better,” he said.
Socoby made a nice pass to Jordan Hill for a layup, then drove for a three-point play after a steal to give the Shiretowners a 43-41 lead with 5:22 left. After Ryan Harmon and Jared Gray each scored to give WA a two-point edge, Socoby fed Dustin Edwards for a 3-pointer good for a 46-45 Houlton advantage with 3:53 to play.
Jarred Sternbergh hit a jumper to give WA the lead back at 47-46 with 3:37 left, but those were the Raiders’ final points. Houlton came out of a subsequent timeout with a play designed for Socoby, and he scored from the baseline to give the Shiretowners a 48-47 lead with 2:22 left.
Socoby later stripped the ball from WA guard Whitney Stevens as he drove to the basket, then capped off Houlton’s late surge with a bullet pass from near midcourt to a wide-open Danny Bartlett for a layup with 12 seconds left to push the margin to 51-47 and assure that Houlton would conclude its first season in Class C by playing for a gold ball.
“We were trying to stall,” said Socoby, “but if they were going to give us a layup, that was going to make it a two-possession game, so we might as well take it.”
Socoby finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocked shots, while Edwards added 15 points on five 3-point goals.
“Down the stretch Socoby was tough to contain; he just took over,” said WA coach Chad Fitzsimmons.
Gray led 18-3 Washington Academy with 17 points, while James Ramsdell scored 11.
Both teams struggled early, with Houlton earning a 27-23 halftime lead behind 18 points from Socoby and three Edwards 3-pointers. But Gray led WA on a 13-3 run to open the second half, making his first four shots of the third quarter as the Raiders moved out to a 36-30 lead.
“Jared Gray was amazing. He almost willed his team to victory by himself,” said Houlton coach Sean Callahan.
Houlton answered with the final six points of the period. Brett Miles scored on a drive and Socoby added two baskets, one from the lane and one on an offensive rebound, to send the teams into the fourth quarter locked in a 36-36 tie.
“[WA] came out in the second half and they wanted it,” said Callahan. “They had us reeling, but luckily we looked deep down inside and we found a little something left.”
SHIRETOWNERS 52, RAIDERS 47
Houlton (19-2) Washington Acad. (18-3)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Edwards 5 15 0 0 15 Je. Gray 0 0
O’Connell 0 8 0 0 0 Harmon 3 4 7
B. Miles 1 2 4 6 6 Ramsdell 4 10 3 4 11
Hill 1 1 0 0 2 Ja. Gray 7 20 17
Bartlett 1 2 0 0 2 Hostetter 0 0
Socoby 11 24 4 6 27 Colbeth 0 0 0
Duff 0 0 0 1 0 Sternbergh 2 5 5
Stevens 3 13 1 7
Look 0 1 0 0
Totals 19 52 8 13 52 19 56 12 47
Houlton 8 27 36 52
Washington Academy 7 23 36 47
3-pt. goals ? Houlton (6-19): Edwards 5-10, O’Connell 0-1, Socoby 1-8; Washington Academy (2-14): Harmon 1-1, Ja. Gray 1-8, Je. Gray 0-1, Stevens 0-4
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