Ellsworth Boys Beat MDI 63-58 in Electric Atmosphere [PHOTOS/STATS]

The Ellsworth Boys Basketball Team beat the MDI Trojans 63-58 at Bernard Parady Gymnasium on Friday night, January 3rd.

The atmosphere was absolutely electric, and the crowd was one of the largest in recent years, harkening back to pre-Covid and streaming of games.

I want to share what Justin Norwood, the MDI Coach wrote after the game, before I go into the recap.

Tonight on Jamie Gonzalez court and inside Bernard Parady Gym the Ellsworth Eagles and MDI Trojans played an absolute classic rivalry game.

Things have been different since COVID, not trying to take a political stand, it is what is.
Streaming games has made it easy to stay home and enjoy your favorite teams. It’s made coaching easier as we can watch opponents play without having to leave our homes. But it’s also hurt the atmosphere that we used to love.
Tonight was different! Ellsworth brought a huge crowd, and it was probably the most MDI fans I’ve seen in a while. The teams did not disappoint! Ellsworth played extremely well, which is no surprise with the program they have. Our boys even down 13 at half time never quit, at one point taking the lead and they played till the final whistle coming up a little short losing by 5.
It was amazing to be a part of! I want to thank all the fans from both teams for reminding us all why we love Maine High School basketball!

I also want to encourage and challenge fans to continue to fill our stands! And also hope that when we head to Ellsworth that our fans travel as well as Ellsworth did tonight!

When I spoke to Coach Mattson from Ellsworth he said in the 4th Quarter when Coach Norwood called timeout and ran out onto the court pumping up the crowd, that he couldn't hear himself in the huddle talking to the Eagles. He also said that one of the players told him he felt the court bouncing! Coach Mattson told me that Coach Norwood fired him up! It truly was a magical game, and I hope I shared some of the excitement on-air!

Ellsworth jumped out to a 8-0 lead, but MDI fought back and Ellsworth led 16-12 at the end of the 1st Quarter. Again in the 2nd Quarter the Eagles went on a run, this time 9-0 to start the Quarter, and they led 36-23 at the end of the 1st Half.

In the 3rd Quarter MDI outscored Ellsworth 18-11 to cut the lead to 47-41. MDI tied the game 56-56 with 2:19 remaining, and took the lead 57-56. Ellsworth, Brady King and Hollis Grindle went a combined 6-8 from the free throw line in the last 1:40 to give Ellsworth the win.

Ellsworth was led by Dawson Curtis with 16 points including 2 3-pointers. Hollis Grindal and Brayden King each had 12 points. Kyle Kenny had 11 points, with a 3-pointer and a monster alley-oop slam-dunk. Ellsworth was 12-17 from the free throw line.

MDI was led by James Witham with 20 points including a 3-pointer. He was a near-perfect 12-13 from the free throw line. Lincoln Gray had 16 points with 2 3-pointers. Dylan Stoll had 10 points with a 3-pointer. Preston Tripp and James Biekert each had a a 3-pointer. MDI was 21-23 from the free throw line.

Ellsworth is now 7-1. They will play at Washington Academy on Wednesday, January 8th at 7 p.m.

MDI is now 3-4. They will play at Old Town on Tuesday, January 7th at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on WDEA AM 1370, on WDEA Internet Radio, on our free downloadable APP and on any Alexa enabled device with the pregame beginning at 6:40 p.m.

Here are the stats

Line Score

	1	2	3	4	T
Ellsworth Boys	16	20	11	16	63
MDI Boys	12	11	18	17	58

Box Score

Ellsworth

Name	PTS	2PM	3PM	FTM	FTA
Porter Merrill	0	-	-	-	-
TJ McAlpine	0	-	-	-	-
Eli Holler	0	-	-	-	-
Morgan Blair	0	-	-	-	-
Brayden King	12	3	-	6	11
Bryce Hart	0	-	-	-	-
Hollis Grindal	12	3	-	6	6
Hunter Boles	0	-	-	-	-
Kyle Kenny	11	4	1	-	-
Connor MacDonald	0	-	-	-	-
Dawson Curtis	16	5	2	-	-
Zach Bray	4	2	-	-	-
Jackson Barry	8	4	-	-	-
TOTALS	63	21	3	12	17

MDI

Name	PTS	2PM	3PM	FTM	FTA
Mason LaPointe	2	1	-	-	-
James Witham	20	1	2	12	13
Dylan Stoll	10	1	1	5	6
Cal Hodgdon	2	1	-	-	-
Jarron Biekert	5	1	1	-	-
James Hanscom	0	-	-	-	-
Lincoln Gray	16	3	2	4	4
Preston Tripp	3	-	1	-	-
Kenneth Stilwell	0	-	-	-	-
Trevor Brophy	0	-	-	-	-
Coe Thurston	0	-	-	-	-
Henry Trombetto	0	-	-	-	-
James Downey	0	-	-	-	-
TOTALS	58	8	7	21	23