GSA boys’ basketball victorious over rival Bucksport in key game
The Eagles took on the rival Bucks on Jan. 15. Photo by John Epstein.
Jan. 20, 2026
By John Epstein
The atmosphere tends to be extra charged when the boys’ varsity teams of George Stevens Academy and nearby Bucksport clash on the basketball court. The evening game between the Eagles and the Golden Bucks on Jan. 15 was no exception.
“It’s a good house tonight,” said Tony Rolfe, retired teacher and coach, who was selling tickets at the door of the GSA gym ($5 for adults, $2 for seniors, students free). Cars and pick-up trucks packed the parking lot, and by the time the junior varsity squads finished their game, approximately 200 people had filled into the bleachers to see the main event.
“We’re both vying for a spot in the playoffs,” said Bucksport coach, Sedge Saunders, who was having a congenial pre-game chat with his counterpart, GSA coach, Dwayne Carter. Indeed, even though both varsity teams went into the game with identical 3 and 8 records, with seven games left in the season, a playoff spot was a mathematical possibility.
GSA’s brass pep band, many wearing hunter’s orange, a themed attire for the game, blasted rock and roll covers as the teams took to the court for warm ups–the GSA Eagles in sedate home whites with maroon trim, the Golden Bucks in flashier gold and purple uniforms.
But it was GSA’s playing that flashed on the hardwood. Led by the talented junior point guard Malcolm Page, who patiently read Bucksport’s zone defense for passing and shooting opportunities and forced mistakes on defense, the Eagles jumped to a 13-3 lead by the end of the first quarter. They never looked back.
The Golden Bucks’ shots clanked off the rim again and again. But GSA kept the ball rolling the right way. Even when Wyatt Young hoisted an air ball on a long-distance jumper, he hustled down the court to block a Bucksport shot, banged the boards for a rebound and then dribbled the length of the court for a redeeming layup.
GSA went into the locker room at half-time with a 10-point lead, as a very excited freshman and junior varsity player, Jo-Jo Grego, conducted the pep band section in an ad hoc cheer: “How do you spell GSA?”
At the end of the third quarter, GSA’s lead had expanded to 38-21. The final score after 32 minutes of play: Eagles 48, Golden Bucks 33.
Page led all scorers with 17 points, including three three-pointers. His teammate, Young, had 11 points. Bucksport forward, Jack Morrison, led his team with a hard-driving 14 points.
In a post-game interview, GSA’s Coach Carter kept it low key.
“There’s been a few lapses in the past, but tonight they were good,” he said. The Eagles, now at 4-8, will have to keep up that good work if they hope to make the playoffs.
A happy side note: It was terrific to see Avery MacNair, a Bucksport sophomore, playing forward for the school’s junior varsity team. MacNair, a Penobscot resident, once again sported a bushy head of hair after treatment for a rare form of leukemia.
“I’m a little nervous,” said his mother, Jamie MacNair, who watched her son play from a seat up high on the bleachers. But the comeback has been welcome news for “Avery’s Army,” the many friends and neighbors in and around his community who have given him their heartfelt support during his treatment.
Avery MacNair, far right, now sporting a thick head of hair after several years of battling a rare form of leukemia. The Penobscot resident is a sophomore on Bucksport’s junior varsity basketball team. Photo by John Epstein.
IF THE SHOE FITS: Two Bucksport teammates wear one of each others’ shoes during the game. Photo by John Epstein.
