Much like their counterparts on the girls side, the Wildcats were missing several key pieces due to mandatory quarantines as they squared off with the Panthers of Central Aroostook on the road Saturday afternoon. That would prove to be irrelevant however, as several freshmen came in to play meaningful roles on the offensive and defensive end, leading to a 64-37 win for Presque Isle. 

After allowing nine points in the first three minutes of the contest, head coach Terry Cummings called a timeout and put some fire into his players, who locked down defensively, only allowing three points (which came off of an off balance, banked in three) for the remainder of the quarter and only six for the entirety of the next. 

On the other half of the court, the Wildcats attacked the basket with a fury, to the tune of 17 first half free throws, all of whom were shot by junior Xavier McAtee and sophomore Malachi Cummings, who made 13 of them. They would run away with the game in the second quarter, finishing the first 16 minutes up 34-18. 

It would be the Panthers who would benefit from the majority of the foul calls in the second half, but unlike their opponents, they couldn’t find their touch from the line, as they fall to the Wildcats by 27. 

Cummings led his team with 26 points on 9/13 shooting in the game, followed by McAtee, who had 15 and freshman Jack Buck, who tallied 11. 

“We played really good as a team and moved the ball very well which created wide open shots for us,” McAtee said after the game. “If we can do this every game consistently then we should have no problem beating other teams.”

Following the win, the boys are back at it on Monday, facing off against Caribou at home.