HIGH SCHOOLS

Julia Colby of Oxford Hills was named Miss Basketball on Friday night, and Bryce Lausier of Hampden Academy was named Mr. Basketball.

Colby, a senior guard, averaged 17.4 points per game along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.6 steals. The Class AA North Player of the Year and a two-time winner of the regional outstanding player award, Colby guided the Vikings to a second straight Class AA state championship.

Lausier, a 6-foot-4 guard, averaged 26.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He is an accurate shooter, hitting on 61 percent of all field goals and 41 percent on 3-pointers.

GATORADE PLAYER: Emily Archibald of Kennebunk has been named the 2019-20 Gatorade Maine Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-2 junior led the Rams to a 15-4 record, She averaged 20 points per game to go with 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.6 steals, and 3.4 blocks .
Archibald was named the SMAA Player of the Year and has been a team captain since her freshman year.

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“I think there are two things that set Emily apart from other players in the state,” said Biddeford Coach Katie Herbine. “First is her versatility. She can play any position on the floor, bringing a different skill set to each position, and she is an incredible defender. Secondly, it’s her leadership ability. She has a commanding presence, doesn’t fold under pressure and does whatever her coaches ask of her. She is the best all-around player we faced this year.”

NORDIC SKIING

JUNIOR WORLDS: Yarmouth native Sophia Laukli helped the United States to a best-ever finish at the Junior World Championships of cross country skiing Friday in Oberwiesenthal, Germany.

The junior women’s 4-by-3.3K relay consists of two classic legs and two of freestyle. Laukli went third, on the first freestyle leg, as Team USA won a silver medal with a finish only 4.9 seconds behind Switzerland. Sweden took bronze.

The only other World Championship medal for the U.S. in the junior women’s relay was a bronze in 2017 at Soldier Hollow in Utah. Joining Laukli, who is in her first year at Middlebury College, were Kendall Kramer of Alaska, Sydney Palmer-Leger of Idaho and Novie McCabe of Washington.

Also Friday, the U.S. junior men won gold in the 4-by-5K relay for the second year in a row.

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BASKETBALL

G LEAGUE: Sekou Doumbouya hit a jump shot with 7.6 seconds remaining to give Grand Rapids a 102-101 G League win over the Maine Red Claws on Friday night at the Portland Expo.

Vincent Poirier, a rookie on assignment from the Celtics, finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds but was stripped of the ball underneath Maine’s basket with less than a second to go. Bryce Brown had 26 points for the Red Claws while Yante Maten added 16 points and eight rebounds. Jaysean Paige pu had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Doumbouya, a rookie on assignment from the Pistons, finished with 30 points and eight rebounds for Grand Rapids. Jordan Bone scored 17 points.

HOCKEY

ECHL: Goaltender Tom McCollum made 28 saves, including a key glove stop with 15 seconds left in regulation, to help Reading hold on for a 2-1 ECHL win over the Maine Mariners on Friday night in Portland.

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Steven Swavely and Pascal Laberge each scored for the Royals while Michael McNicholas scored for Maine with Andrew Sturtz and Matt Nuttle assisting. Francois Brassard made 22 saves.

TRACK AND FIELD

JUMPER CLEARED: American long jumper and sprinter Jarrion Lawson, banned for the past 19 months after eating what he maintained was contaminated meat, has been cleared to compete again.

Lawson’s agent, Paul Doyle, said he was notified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday that Lawson was exonerated of the doping offense. The details of the decision are expected to be released next week, Doyle said.

Lawson was sleeping Friday morning when he received a call from his coach, Travis Geopfert. On the line was Geopfert, Doyle and attorney Paul Greene, who works for Global Sports Advocates, based in Portland.

“My lawyer just said, ‘I’m going to keep it simple: We won,'” Lawson said. “I was in shock mode. I didn’t know how to feel.”

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FOOTBALL

NFL: Running back Austin Ekeler agreed to a four-year deal with the Chargers worth $24.5 million, including $15 million guaranteed. Ekeler was slated to become a restricted free agent when the new league year starts on March 18.

Ekeler went undrafted before signing with the Chargers in 2017. He went from being a special teams standout to a backfield threat over his three seasons. He was seventh in the league and fourth in the AFC this season with 1,550 scrimmage yards (557 rushing, 993 receiving). He also scored 11 touchdowns.

• Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams was ticketed and was ordered to appear in court March 25 after trying to board a plane at New York’s LaGuardia Airport while carrying a gun, authorities said Friday.

Williams, 22, the Jets’ first-round draft pick last season, was arrested on Thursday night on a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. The Port Authority Police Department said Williams has a permit in his home state of Alabama for the Glock 19 pistol but does not have a gun permit in New York. The gun was in Williams’ carry-on bag and was not loaded, police said.

SLED DOG RACING

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IDITAROD: Mushers in the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race should expect deep snow along much of the trail, and Race Director Mark Nordman says the theme for this year’s sled dog race may be “patience” as teams navigate heavy snow.

“It’s going to be a discussion amongst mushers, you know, just how they’re going to deal with it,” Nordman said. “As I told a couple people, I said, ‘You probably should be able to make sure you can get at your snowshoes if you want to get off the trail,’ which has not been the norm.”

The event is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Anchorage with hundreds of sled dogs pulling 57 mushers along city streets and trails for the ceremonial start.

– Staff and news service report


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