Bridgton Academy Downs Lee Academy 93-67

The Bridgton Academy Wolverines improved to 6-1 on the season as they defeated Lee Academy Prep on Tuesday night at the Wolverdome 93-67.

The game started off highly contested until the Wolverines were able to make a run midway through the first half and build up a 53-35 lead heading into halftime. The second half saw the Wolverines add to their lead stretching it to as many as 35 points with just under 8 minutes to go at 90-55. The Wolverines looked to control the clock throughout the remainder of the game, showing a great deal of patience while often times battling the shot clock in the final seconds before the final horn sounded finalizing a 93-67 Bridgton Academy Victory.

When asked about his thoughts on the game Wolverines forward Jack Houpt (Chesterton, IN) said, "I thought our defense is what put us ahead, our energy was great, we had a lof of guys step up for us. I also think the crowd was a was a factor tonight, they were great from start to finish."

Head Coach Whit Lesure echoed Houpt's comments saying, "It was one of the best crowds I've seen here, especially that group of student's, they were clever, loud, and really provided us with a big boost. It was a terrific basketball atmosphere."

The Bridgton Academy fans had plenty to cheer about and plenty of Wolverines to cheer for as all 13 players saw extended minutes with 12 reaching the scoring column. Kauri Black (Rialto, CA) and Justin Rake (Mandeville, LA) led five players in double figures with 14 points apiece, Carl Blair (Katy, TX) followed with 13, Bryant Avent (Phoenix, AZ) 11, and Dwayne Smith (Toronto, Ontario) 10.

Lesure went on to say, "We got a number of positive contributions tonight from several individuals, I think Bryant's particularly really stands out to me, his energy and productivity was significant for us."... He went on to add, "We have a lot of respect for that team, we know they've been winning quite a few games against some New England Prep teams. I think we were able to handle their initial run in the first half, break the game open a little bit, and then come back out in the second half and continue our strong play, we had more good offensive and defensive possessions and ultimately wound up playing probably twenty minutes of the best basketball we have played all season over the course of the game."

41 of the Wolverines 93 points came from their non starters demonstrating the depth and unselfishness of this years team. Bryant Avent touched on the teams unselfishness saying, "I think we had great energy tonight, we shared the ball well, got a lot of different guys involved which in turn enabled us to get some really good looks at the basket."

The Wolverines are hoping they will have similar success this weekend as they did tonight when they head down to Fork Union, Virginia for the Fork Union Military Academy Tournament this Friday and Saturday. Bridgton Academy will face off against host Fork Union Friday night in the tournament semi-final before finding out if they will play in the consolation or championship game on Saturday.


#3 Malik Stith (Long Island, NY) sets up the offense.


#32 Kauri Black (Rialto, CA) goes up for 2 of his team high 14 points.


#14 Chad July (Gainesville, FL) comes down with a rebound in traffic.

Student Photo by Joe Robichaud of Kauri dunking at the end of the first half.

Wolverines Improve to 5-1 With Home Win Over Winchendon 81-67

The Bridgton Academy Basketball team returned to action for the first time in over two weeks on Sunday and had a successful showing in a 81-67 win over the Winchdenon School. After shaking off some rust in the early going the Wolverines were able to jump out to a lead and maintain it throughout the first half taking a 31-29 lead into halftime.

The Wolverines often times found themselves as their own worst enemy as turnovers were an issue for both teams throughout the game. Bridgton Academy however was able to establish an advantage at the free throw line making 29-35 attempts to Winchendon's 10-17. Wolverines Head Coach Whit Lesure noted that "We really shot the heck outta the ball at the free throw line, making 29 outta 35 is certainly one of the better days we've had from the line."

When asked about some thoughts on the game Wolverines guard Carl Blair (Katy, TX) had this to say, "We played hard, we knew they were gonna come right at us so we knew we were gonna have to fight back, we were gonna get some runs, they were gonna try and get theirs so we just had to try and contain them when they started putting something together, which I think we were able to do. Plus I think we did a good job of making our free throws and rebounding the basketball, just playing unselfish basketball like we've been doing all season."

Blair was one of four Wolverines in double figures as he scored 15, Dwayne Smith led all scorers with 22, Jamal Crook 14, and Kauri Black finished with 10 points.

It remained a highly contested game throughout the first and second halves where a big play here and there really proved to be the difference. Coach Lesure pointed out that, "I think we made big plays down the stretch, none bigger then the play late in the game when Malik came away from a crowd of Winchendon players with the ball and really prevented an easy basket for them, it was only about a 3 point game at the time so that was certainly a pretty big moment in the game."

The Wolverines will look to build off of tonight's win when they host Lee Academy Prep on Tuesday at the Wolverdome, tip off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

2008 National Prep Showcase Recap

Following this years National Prep Showcase, New England Recruiting report (www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com) did a full recap of the weekends games and some final thoughts on the weekend including our very own Wolverine basketball team...

Bridgton is Back

Last year was the first time in four years that Bridgton Academy didn’t win the class A title. If this weekend was any indication, Whit Lesure’s team certainly has to be considered an early favorite in 2009. Hargrave Military Academy, the nation’s top ranked team, needed an 18 foot buzzer beater to narrowly escape defeat, while Champlain St. Lambert was simply no match for the New England prep school. With significantly more talent than last year as well as their trademark discipline on both ends of the floor, Bridgton has the recipe for what could potentially be their fourth title in five years.

for the full write up click here National Prep Showcase Final Thoughts

A Nice Piece On Bridgton Basketball

A great piece on Bridgton Academy Basketball, part of the bicentennial DVD with comments from Head Coach Whit Lesure and former Wolverine standout and current St. John's basketball player Justin Burrell '07.

Wolverines Fall To #1 Ranked Hargrave, Bounce Back With Big Win At National Prep Showcase

The Bridgton Academy Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season on Friday against #1 ranked Hargrave Military Academy 76-74 on a buzzer beating 25 foot 3 pointer. The game had been close throughout the contest with Hargrave maintaining a slight edge most of the game including taking a 41-36 lead into halftime. Head Coach Whit Lesure said, "I was happy with the way we played the end of the first half and the start of the second, Dwayne Smith's effort stood out to me."

The Wolverines made some adjustments in the second half and after a big three pointer late from Malik Stith the Wolverines found themselves with a two point lead. With 3.5 seconds remaining Hargrave in bounded the ball from just over half court and connected on a contested 3 point attempt from about 25 feet out. Lesure noted, "It's a tough loss. But we don't have the time to analyze it now. Give their kid Riley credit for making a terrific clutch shot."

Malik Stith who lead the Wolverines in scoring with 19 points looked at the game as a good measuring stick for his team early in the season, "We realize we can play with anyone when we play our game but it's going to take two strong halves to do it. Even tonight I think we are just beginning to realize our potential, we just need to keep working hard and getting better as a team."

Rounding out the scoring for the Wolverines was Dwayne Smith with 18 points, Chad July 10, Kauri Black 8, Jamal Crook 7, Justin Rake, Carl Blair 4, and Jack Houpt 3.

Bridgton Academy found themselves back in action on Saturday when they faced Champlain, a team from the Montreal area in Canada. It was clear early on that the Wolverines were eager to get back to their winning ways as they were able to establish a lead early and never look back winning by a final score of 65-46.

Coach Lesure described the game as, "A good win for us" adding "I felt like when Malik (Stith) finished our shootaround in the morning with a made free throw, our team got past yesterdays defeat."

The Wolverines built up an 11 point half time lead (36-25) and held Champlain to just 21 points in the second half. "We expected Champlain's competitiveness. Our bench played their butts off in the 2nd half. Crook and Gross gave us a huge lift, and Blair settled us down at the point."

Wolverines Guard Jamal Crook commented on the game saying, "We rebounded from last nights game strong, we got off to a little bit of a slow start in the first half but we picked things up pretty quick. We just made sure to stick to what we know can help win us basketball games and thats our team defense."

Teammate Garrison Gross followed by saying, "I think we're coming together as a team. We showed we can rebound from a tough game and make the adjustments we need to make to get better. It's still early in the season so we just want to work on getting better and better."

Crook led the Wolverines in a balanced scoring attack with 12 points, followed by Carl Blair with 9, Justin Rake, Chad July, and Dwayne Smith with 8 apiece, Kauri Black 7, Malik Stith 6, Jack Houpt 5, and Bryant Avent 2.

The Wolverines will head into the break with a 4-1 record and are off until December 7th when they will face Winchendon School at the Wolverdome, tip off is at 1 p.m.

Bridgton Academy Ranked 5th In Pre-Season National Prep Basketball Poll

The Bridgton Academy Wolverines find themselves ranked 5th in the Pre-Season National Prep Basketball Poll.

The Top 10 are as follows...

1. Hargrave Military Academy- 48 points, (3)
2. Brewster Academy- 44 points, (2)
3. Patterson School- 43 points
4. Notre Dame Prep- 31 points
5. Bridgton Academy- 25 points
6. South Kent School- 22 points
7. Winchendon School- 15 points
8. Stoneridge Prep- 11 points
9. St. Mark's School- 8 points
10. St. Thomas More- 7 points

For the entire story see the New England Recruiting Report website Pre-Season National Prep Poll

Wolverines Improve to 3-0, Down Harvard JV 79-49

The Bridgton Academy Basketball team traveled down to Harvard University to face the Crimson JV squad Monday night and came away with an impressive 79-49 win to improve their early season record to 3-0.

The game got off to a slow start with both teams struggling to put the ball in the hoop, however it was just a matter of time before the Wolverines offense started to come alive. Dwayne Smith (Toronto, Ontario) pointed to his teams defense as a big reason they were able to build a lead even with some offensive struggles early, "We take a lot of pride in our defense and even on nights like tonight when we might struggle with our offense early on, we know we'll have our defense there for us. Even tonight as the game progressed we started capitalizing on their mistakes and got our offense going that way."

It was the Wolverines first road trip of the season something Head Coach Whit Lesure was happy to put behind them, "It's always an adventure the first time we get on a bus and travel a couple of hours to play, but I was happy we packed our defense with us for the trip." The Wolverines defense was certainly evident throughout the game, particularly in the first half holding Harvard to just 16 points while building up a 21 point lead at the break (37-16).

The second half saw a bit more scoring action from both sides early on then did the first, however, the Wolverines were able to maintain a double digit lead throughout the game thanks in large part to the Wolverines bench, "Every time Harvard made a run and tried to cut into the lead, our bench was there to step up and put an end to any sort of comeback bid they were trying to make" said Lesure.

Dwayne Smith and Justin Rake (Mandeville, LA) both came off the bench to lead the Wolverines offensively scoring 16 and 14 points respectively, Jamal Crook (Louisville, KY) followed with 11, and Malik Stith (Long Island, NY) 9. In all eleven different Wolverines got into the scoring column.

Bridgton Academy will return to action this weekend as they head down to Bryant University in Rhode Island for the National Prep Showcase beginning Friday, November 21st when the Wolverines meet National powerhouse Hargrave Military Academy with tip off scheduled for 4:00 p.m.