FRYEBURG ACADEMY

• Coach Sean Watson summed up his team’s season following a close loss to Freeport.

“We keep knocking on the door,” he said, “Hopefully soon, we walk through the door.”

Again, the Raiders played a tight game Tuesday night, only to fall to Cape Elizabeth 42-31. FA trailed 7-5 and 16-12 in the first half and 25-20 after three. Julia Quinn led the FA offense with 9 points, while Sky Dole and Lexi L’Heureux-Carland each netted 8 points. Sarah Welch chipped in 6 points as the Raiders fell to 2-9.

• Skye Dole scored 14 points but the Raiders were unable to match Gray-New Gloucester’s firepower in a 68-43 loss.

FA fell behind 20-12 and 39-21 in the first half.

For the Raiders, Sarah Welch netted 6 points, Lexi L’Heureux-Carland 6, McKenna Gerchman 5, Julia Quinn 5, Kristen Chipman 4 and Kendra Fox 3.

Up next: The Raider girls host Sacopee Valley tonight, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. FA then hosts Lake Region on Monday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. (JV at 1 p.m.). Then, the Raiders are off until Saturday, Jan. 26 when they travel to Greely for a 6:30 p.m. game.

• Facing several of the conference’s top teams in the first couple of weeks, Raider boys’ basketball Coach Sedge Saunders expected a rough ride.

Now, the Raiders are in the softer part of their schedule and FA is starting to come around. The Raiders notched their third victory of the season with a 57-34 victory over Gray-New Gloucester. Walker Mallory ignited the FA attack with a game-high 15 points, including two 3-pointers.

Bright Amoako chipped in 12 points while Tyler Saunders hit two 3-pointers en route to a 10-point night.

With the game tied at 8-8 after one, the Raiders exploded for a 18-4 run. Intermission didn’t cool the Raiders off as they picked right up where they left off with a game-clinching 20-9 spurt.

Other FA scorers were: Jaquin Causer 7, Jon Burk 5, Alex Lazich 4, Ryan Gullikson 2, Alex Blake 1 and Winston Richards 1.

The Raiders (3-8) nearly pulled off a big upset Tuesday night, taking third-ranked Cape Elizabeth (9-2) into overtime, but falling just short, 53-48. The Raiders made a big charge in the second quarter, out scoring the Capers 19-12 to take a 28-25 lead at halftime. Cape pulled out the win with an 8-3 run in overtime. Jaquin Causer tied for game-high honors with 16 points. Walker Mallory connected on three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points while Bright Amoako also chipped in 11 points. Tyler Saunders scored 5, Jon Burk 4 and Alex Blake had 1 point.

Up next: The Raider boys travel to Sacopee Valley Friday night for a 6 p.m. against the Hawks. FA hosts Lake Region on Monday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m. (JV at 2:30 p.m.). The Raiders then are off until Saturday, Jan. 26 when they host Greely at 6:30 p.m.

LAKERS TAKE THIRD — This past Saturday, the Lake Region varsity cheerleaders competed in the Western Maine Conference Championships held at Poland High School. The Lakers placed third out of 10 teams. Next up is the Regional competition at the Augusta Civic Center on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. Pictured are: (front, left to right) Frances Kimball, Jackie Laurent, Coach Ashleigh London (and her son Parker), and Co-Coach Samantha Scarf; (second row) Rashawnda Currier, Emily Secord, Brittany Perreault and Kacie Tripp; (third row) Carley Watts, Rachel Davis, Sarah Curley, Aimee Worcester and Elizabeth Mitchell; (top row) varsity members Ashton Anderson and Adrianna Merrill, former cheerleaders Katelyn Esty and Stephanie Winslow, varsity member Faith Duquette (behind), Mikayla Fortin and Kassandra Girard.

LAKE REGION

When your team is dominated and the final scoring is a bit ugly, it can be hard for a coach to find a silver lining.

A tall and athletic York squad put on a first quarter show, blanking the host Lakers 16-0 last Wednesday.

Quarter Number 2 wasn’t much better as the Wildcats rolled out a 21-9 spurt, including a dunk.

While the Lakers absorbed a 63-24 loss, Coach JP Yorkey actually saw some “improvement” in his club’s game. Coach Yorkey felt the Lakers did a far better job handling full-court pressure than they had in the past — “we actually had only a few turnovers against their press” the coach said — and LR was sharper in its passing game.

“Yes, the final score was ugly,” the coach said. “But, we did some good things. I also thought the kids continued to play hard despite the score.”

Over the first 24 minutes, the Lakers managed just 12 points against a very active York zone defense. Sam Smith was LR’s high scorer with 6 points, while Quinn Piland had 4 and Mike Mageles 3. Players with 2 points were Sean Edwards, Adam Falk, Cody Gibbons, Nick Hall and Mark MacDougall. Ben Chaine had 1 point.

• Talk about back-to-back brutal games. LR traveled to Falmouth, which had beaten York by 20 points. Again, the Lakers were on the short end — both on the scoreboard and on the court as the towering Yachtsmen put up 29 points in the first quarter and had a 27-0 run in the third to roll to a 92-41 victory.

Enough said.

LR scorers were: Cody Gibbons 11, Mike Mageles 8, Quinn Piland 6, Mike Triglione 5, Sam Smith 5, Mark Williams 2, Mark MacDougall 2 and Ben Chaine 2 points.

Up next: The Lakers host Poland Saturday night at 7 p.m. and then travel to Fryeburg Academy on Monday, Jan. 21 for a 5:30 p.m. game.