The top-seeded Caribou boys were on the ropes in the Class B North regional championship Friday night. The defending champion Orono Red Riots had kept the Vikings’ high-powered offense in check most of the game.
And then Tristen Robbins entered the chat.
With his team down six points with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Caribou senior forward took over the game and helped send his team to the boys Class B state title game next weekend.
“I took the game over like I’m asked to,” Robbins said after the win. “I have a lot of weight on my shoulders. I got it going a little bit.”
More than a little bit.
Robbins scored seven straight points in those final minutes, flipping a 37-31 point lead for No. 3 Orono into a 38-37 lead for Caribou. He ended with a game-high 17 points on the night, nine of which came in that final quarter.
After Orono sharpshooter Bergen Soderberg hit a runner in the lane to stretch the Red Riots’ lead to six with 4:11 to play, Caribou turned to Robbins. And he responded.
Already a dominant force earlier in the tournament, Robbins found an even higher gear in those final minutes. He knocked down a shot to cut the Orono lead to four, followed that up with two free throws, and then added what Caribou coach Kyle Corrigan accurately called a “massive” 3-pointer to suddenly put his team on top.
The drama was just starting, however. Orono fought for an offensive rebound and Soderberg made the most of that second chance, connecting on a 3-pointer of his own to reclaim the lead for the Red Riots at 40-38 with under two minutes to play.
Robbins responded yet again, adding another bucket with 54 seconds left to tie the game at 40.
After an Orono turnover, Caribou senior forward Landen Belanger had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. Belanger was fouled and headed to the free throw line with just .5 seconds on the clock. Belanger calmly knocked down the first one, and then Orono took a timeout.
“Landon’s cold-blooded, we’ve known that forever,” Corrigan said. “He’s a bigtime player, he’s a big shotmaker.”
After that break in the action, Belanger missed his second free throw, something Belanger was instructed to do, according to his coach.
Corrigan said the miss was by design to prevent Orono from being able to set up an inbounds play for a last second shot.
Even with that strategic maneuvering, Orono senior forward Will Francis almost managed to do the impossible. After securing the rebound after the missed free throw, Francis quickly heaved a full court shot the other way.
It hit the backboard and the side of the rim. A few inches the other way, and it would have been the kind of shot that people talk about for decades.
Francis, playing in what ended up being his final high school basketball game for Orono, clearly left everything on the court Friday night.
“I kind of just hucked it up there. I didn’t know, but I saw the trajectory and it looked like it was going to be close,” Francis said. “But it was off.”
His 24 points in the previous round helped rocket the short-handed Red Riots past Old Town. He spent a few moments laying on the court after his near-miraculous full-court attempt.
After a couple of his teammates stood with Francis and helped him up, Robbins was one of the first to console his fellow competitor.
Robbins said he and Francis have been playing against each other since the third grade.
“We’ve had every single battle, all four years of high school. He’s a great competitor and we love meeting each other, especially in these kinds of moments,” Robbins said after the game. “And it’s always a battle.”
Francis said he and Robbins are pretty good friends, and that there was plenty of mutual respect on the floor Friday night.
“Credit to Caribou, they’re a great team all around. I’m happy for them,” Francis said. “It’s devastating for us, but I’m glad that they get to go on and have the chance to get one of those state championships.”
It was a classy finish all around in the Class B North regional final.
