The largest crowd in several years at Caribou High School took in Friday’s key Class B clash between Caribou and Presque Isle.
Things were looking good for the hosts midway through the third quarter when the Vikes grabbed a 33-26 lead, but the Wildcats bounced back for a 60-47 victory.
Karson Eaton came off the bench to hit six three-pointers and score 21 points to spark PI, which improved to 15-3 and with the victory took the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Maine ‘B’ Heal Point rankings.
Caribou finished the regular season with a 13-5 record and is ranked fifth heading into the playoffs.
The Vikes will host No. 12 Hermon in a preliminary playoff game tonight at 6 p.m. (See Page 4A)
The Vikes started strong and led by four points at halftime. The lead grew to seven three minutes into the second half before PI outscored Caribou 34-14 the rest of the way to sweep the season series.
Tyler Brooks scored 15 points and Jonah Stephenson had nine points and 12 assists for Presque Isle.
Dayne Savage tallied 15 points, Derek Richardson had 12 and Cody Herbert added 10 for the Vikings.
Summaries of other games to close out the regular season follow:
Washburn boys 72, Easton 44 — At Washburn Friday, Mitchell Worcester scored 42 points and added seven rebounds, five steals and five assists after he was honored on Senior Night as the Beavers cruised to the victory.
The win by Washburn gave the team a 17-1 record, the best mark ever recorded by a boys’ basketball team at the school.
Cameron Bragg scored 10 points and Nick Bragg, the team’s other senior, notched eight.
Hunter Turner had 16 points as Easton’s lone double-digit scorer.
Fort Kent boys 66, Limestone-MSSM 59 — On Friday, the Warriors bolted to a 16-point lead after the first quarter and held off a late charge by the Eagles.
Cody Plourde’s 21 points and Charles Nadeau’s 19 were tops for Fort Kent.
Dean Clavet posted 20, while Brandon Thompson and Bret Butler had 13 and 10, respectively, for the Eagles.
Fort Fairfield girls 40, Central Aroostook 39 — The Tigers battled back after trailing by six points with three minutes to play to pull off the win over the Panthers in Mars Hill Thursday.
Sydney Churchill had 15 points and Taylor Churchill netted 10 for the winners, who improved to 14-4.
Page Fletcher’s 14 points led CA.
Presque Isle girls 85, Caribou 34 — At Caribou Thursday, the Wildcats ran away with it early by tallying 32 first-quarter points en route to their 18h victory to cap their second consecutive undefeated season.
Hannah Graham paced the winners with 25 points, while Chandler Guerrette scored 18 and Krystal Kingbury came off the bench to put in 14.
Alexa Massey’s 13 points led Caribou.
Limestone-MSSM girls 50, Southern Aroostook 48 — The Eagles cemented the eighth seed in the EM Class D playoffs by rallying past the Warriors last Wednesday.
Limestone-MSSM trailed by 11 entering the final quarter, but held SA to four fourth-quarter points. The Eagles hit nine of their 10 free throw attempts over the final eight minutes, with freshman Chelsey Pelkey going six for six.
Pelkey scored 21 points and Melissa Cantafio had 11 for the victors.
Washburn girls 49, Easton 35 — The Beavers were held to 18 first-half points, but came on strong late in the win at Easton last Wednesday.
Mackenzie Worcester scored 20 and Carmen Bragg 12 to lead Washburn, who ended up with a perfect 18-0 record.
Washburn boys 82, Central Aroostook 50 — Last Tuesday, the Beavers pounded the Panthers at home behind Worcester’s statistical triple-double of 39 points, 17 boards and 12 steals.
Cameron Bragg scored 13 and Nick Bragg contributed 10 for Washburn.
Steven Decker’s 18 points led the Panthers.
Hodgdon boys 66, Limestone-MSSM 35 — The Hawks prevailed in Limestone-MSSM last Tuesday as the Hudson brothers combined for 46 points in the rout.
Chris Hudson had 24 and Josh Hudson 22 for the winners.
Clavet scored 12 for the Eagles, with Nate Tucker adding 11. The two teams will match up again in the preliminary round of the Class D tourney. Tonight’s game in Hodgdon tips off at 6 p.m.
Caribou boys 54, Houlton 48 — The Vikings prevented the Shires from going undefeated by getting off to a good start and holding off the visitors, who are the No. 1 team in EM Class C.
Caribou led by nine at the end of the first quarter and held a similar advantage early in the fourth before the Shires fought back late, only to fall short.
Savage had 19 points, Richardson 10 and Herbert nine for the winners. Nick Guiod’s 17 points led the Shires. Their leading scorer, Kyle Bouchard, was held to 11 points thanks to stifling defense played by Caribou junior Matt Milliard.
Fort Fairfield boys 54, Madawaska 43 — Four players reached double figures, led by Andrew Lewis’s 12 points, in the Tigers’ home win last Tuesday.
Nate Guimond and Logan Craig scored 11 points each and Andrew Tuck tossed in 10 for Fort Fairfield, which finished with a 9-9 regular season record.
Fort Fairfield girls 60, Madawaska 18 — Senior Rebekah Pelkey drained four three-pointers to finish with 14 points and lead the Tigers to the victory.
