Portland: Home stretch of winter sports regular season arrives

January is about to give way to the championship month of February and you’d better believe that local athletes are up for the challenge.

Everything from here on out will affect playoff positioning and the ability to earn glory, so no miss a moment.

Here’s a glimpse of where things stand at the start of another big week:

Boys’ basketball

Waynflete’s Jed Alsup takes a fadeaway shot during last week’s home win over Hall-Dale.

Waynflete’s boys’ basketball team was 9-3 and fourth in the Class C South Heal Points standings following a 65-42 loss at St. Dom’s and wins over visiting Hall-Dale (46-39) and host Poland (62-36) last week. In the Flyers’ first loss to the Saints in 17 years, Nico Kirby and Ishan Reese both scored 11 points. Against the Bulldogs, Kirby led the way with 17 points and Jed Alsup added nine.

“I’ve been really happy with how we’ve been playing,” Kirby said. “We’re eager and want to win. I like how we’re scrapping.”

“We’re a team that can battle back,” said Alsup. “We can come back from anything.”

“I’d call us a work in progress,” added longtime Waynflete coach Rich Henry. “We have lapses. Sometimes on defense we’re pretty good and sometimes on offense we’re pretty good, but we need more consistency.”

In the win over the Knights, which was the 250th of Henry’s career, Alsup had 17 points and Reese added 11. The Flyers played at North Yarmouth Academy Tuesday, go to Traip Academy Friday, visit Winthrop Saturday and host Old Orchard Beach Tuesday of next week.

Waynflete wasn’t able to advance to the Augusta Civic Center for the tournament a year ago and hopes to get back there this time around.

“We’d love to get to Augusta,” said Alsup. “Last year, guys were really bummed out. We’re young and we’re smaller than other teams, but we’re progressing and playoffs are coming.”

“We can only improve,” said Kirby. “I have high hopes for the team down the road. We just need to focus on not making silly mistakes. As long as we’re patient on offense and take good shots and we play good defense, that’s the biggest thing for us. That and limiting turnovers.”

“It would be very important for us to get to Augusta,” Henry added. “We talk about it as a goal after losing last year in the prelim. We’ve been fortunate to go there frequently. It’s great when you go there, you see what all the hard work is for and it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need more consistency. We can’t let down. We can’t start to wander mentally. It will be my job to be sure that doesn’t happen.”

In Class AA South, Deering was 5-8 and third after a 63-50 loss at Cheverus and a huge 62-61 home win over visiting Gorham last week. In the victory, Evan Legassey had 21 points, Justin Jamal scored 18 and Tayshaun Cleveland added 15. The Rams were at Thornton Academy Tuesday, visit Bonny Eagle Saturday and return home Tuesday of next week to face two-time reigning Class AA champion South Portland.

In Class AA North, Cheverus was 11-2 and second behind Windham in the standings after beating visiting Deering (63-50) last Monday. The Stags returned to action Tuesday at Lewiston. After hosting Edward Little Thursday, Cheverus welcomes Windham in a pivotal showdown Tuesday of next week.

Portland was also 11-2 and third in Class AA North following home wins over Thornton Academy (60-46), Edward Little (79-48) and South Portland (67-43). Against the Golden Trojans, Jeissey Khamis led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Cordell Jones had 15 points and Kevin Rugabirwa added 10 points. In the win over the Red Eddies, Rugabirwa went off for 32 points and Drew Veilleux added 15. Against the Red Riots, Rugabirwa led the way with 18 points and Veilleux finished with 11. The Bulldogs welcome Windham Thursday (see our website for game story), then go to Oxford Hills Tuesday of next week.

Girls’ basketball

Cheverus senior standout Maddie Fitzpatrick (with ball) celebrates with her teammates after scoring her 1,000th career point during Friday’s win at Thornton Academy. Fitzpatrick became the first Cheverus girls’ player to reach the milestone. Courtesy Cheverus High School.

Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team continues to excel, improving to 13-0 and essentially putting a stranglehold on the top spot in the Class AA North Heals after recent victories over visiting Greely (66-41) and host Thornton Academy (62-44). Against the Rangers, senior standout Maddie Fitzpatrick had a game-high 31 points, Rachel Feeley added 13 points and Addison Jordan finished with a dozen. Fitzpatrick then made history at the Golden Trojans, scoring the 1,000th point of her illustrious career, becoming the first player in program history to do so. Fitzpatrick led the way with 25 points. The Stags hosted Lewiston Tuesday (see our website for game story), go to Edward Little Thursday, then visit Windham Tuesday of next week.

Portland was 2-11 and seventh in Class AA North following losses last week at Edward Little (63-47) and Biddeford (49-40). Baleria Yugu scored 20 points against the Red Eddies and had 22 in the loss to the Tigers. The Bulldogs host Windham Thursday and welcome Oxford Hills Tuesday of next week.

In Class A South, Deering was 5-7 and eighth following a 31-27 home win over Westbrook and a 52-37 home loss to reigning regional champion Brunswick. Against the Blue Blazes, Angelina Keo had 12 points and Maya Gayle added nine. In the setback, the Rams turned the ball over 11 times, fell behind 23-4 and wasn’t able to rally despite 15 points from Gayle and 11 from Keo.

“Turnovers have been our Achilles’ heel all year and against a team like that, it’s a wasted opportunity to at least get shots off,” lamented longtime Deering coach Mike Murphy. “They scored a flurry of points at the end of the first quarter. It was a disaster.”

The Rams were at Fryeburg Academy Tuesday, host Gray-New Gloucester Thursday and Kennebunk Saturday, then go to Westbrook Tuesday of next week.

“We have some limitations, but I love the effort from the kids,” Murphy said. “They don’t give up. I’d love to have a 20-point scorer, but we don’t. If we take care of the ball better and make quicker decisions with the ball, I think we’re a better-than-average team, but it has to be for 32 minutes.

“I’d love for the senior group to make it to the tournament. They’ve stayed with it. It has not been easy. They don’t give up and I’d love to see them rewarded. They give everything for each other. It would great to see (the Expo) floor and if we do, you never know what can happen.”

In Class D South, Waynflete improved to 9-2 and second to Valley in the standings following a 42-29 victory at St. Dom’s and a 39-30 home win over Poland last week. Maeve Mechtenberg had 15 points against the Saints. In the win over the Knights, Lauren McNutt-Girouard had 17 points and Lucy Hart added 10. The Flyers were at NYA Tuesday (see our website for game story), go to Traip Academy Friday, host Winthrop Saturday, then welcome reigning Class C champion Old Orchard Beach Tuesday of next week.

Hockey

On the ice, Cheverus’ girls, the reigning state champion, bounced back from its first loss with wins last weekend at Brunswick (6-2) and Penobscot (7-2) to improve to 12-1 and first in the South Region. In the second victory, Lucy Johnson scored four goals, Caroline Rousseau added a pair and Maddie Doherty also had a goal. Cheverus hosted Brunswick Monday and welcomes Cape Elizabeth/Portland/South Portland/Waynflete Thursday.

Speaking of the Beacons, they were 8-4 and third in the South following a 9-1 home loss to Penobscot last week. After going to Falmouth Monday, the Beacons play at Cheverus Thursday, then go to Gorham Saturday.

On the boys’ side, Cheverus/Yarmouth was 5-1 and third in Class B South heading into a showdown Monday against reigning Class B state champion Cape Elizabeth (see our website for game story). Cheverus/Yarmouth welcomes Thornton Academy Thursday, plays at Edward Little Saturday and visits Gorham Tuesday of next week.

The Portland/South Portland/Deering Beacons were 5-5 and fifth heading into Thursday’s home game versus Biddeford.

Indoor track

Cheverus, Deering and Portland took on South Portland in an indoor track meet Saturday in Gorham.

In the girls’ meet, won by the Red Riots, the Stags finished second, the Bulldogs were third and the Rams placed fourth. Portland’s Samantha Moore won the 600 in 1 minute, 27.44 seconds, setting a new league and state record, breaking the former mark of Biddeford’s Brianna Neault (1:27.8).

In the boys’ competition, also won by South Portland, Portland was second, Deering third and Cheverus fourth.

Skiing

Portland’s boys’ Nordic ski team was second to Mt. Blue at Saturday’s Maranacook Waves race. George Ayer was the top individual, finishing the course in 11 minutes, 28 seconds. Deering came in ninth and Cheverus was 13th.

In the girls’ race, won by Mt. Blue, Portland finished seventh, Cheverus was eighth and Deering placed 13th.

Wrestling

Cheverus/Falmouth recently hosted the Zeb Leavitt Memorial wrestling meet. The Stags had 161 points and tied Noble for second place behind Windham (178). Cheverus/Falmouth got wins from Corbin Richter (157 pounds), Aidan Clapper (165) and Indi Backman (190). Deering (61) was sixth. Pedro Lombi won the 215 pound division.