By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
The Wildcats-Vikings basketball rivalry continued last week with both the girls and boys contests played in Presque Isle. Round one went to the host Wildcats, which came up with a pair of convincing wins.
Contributed photo/jMavor Photography
Caribou’s Chad Caverhill, left, looks to dribble past a Presque Isle defender during last Wednesday’s game at Presque Isle High School. The Vikings lost the contest, 64-48.
Last Tuesday, the PI girls bolted to a big lead early thanks to an effective full-court pressure defense which forced numerous turnovers and led to easy baskets. The quick start fueled a 66-40 victory.
“I thought our energy and pressure was excellent at the beginning of the game, especially after losing to John Bapst our previous game,” said Presque Isle coach Jeff Hudson.
“For some reason, we haven’t been starting games the way I’d like to,” said Caribou coach Ryan Deprey. “Teams are coming out in the first quarter and smacking us right in the mouth, and we seem to always respond, but it’s tough to keep coming back.”
Chandler Guerrette scored nine first-quarter points to lead the charge for the Wildcats, while teammate Meredith Stewart dominated the inside for 12 first-half points. The sophomore duo combined for 33 points in the game, with Guerrette scoring 17 and Stewart 16 to go along with her 11 rebounds.
“The biggest factor in the loss was the improved play of Stewart,” Deprey said. “She has really become a solid contributor for them on both ends of the floor.”
“Meredith is playing much, much better,” Hudson added. “Her rebounding has come a long way and now she is scoring more. She is a big key for us.”
After trailing by a large deficit early, Caribou got back into the game by finally solving the PI press and converting on fast-break layups. Jenna Selander scored all 12 of her points in the first half, including a buzzer-beating three to end the first quarter, as Caribou managed to go into halftime behind by a manageable 10 points.
Contributed photo/jMavor Photography
Jenna Selander of the Caribou Vikings, right, tries to find an open teammate while being guarded by PI’s Kayla Richards last Tuesday.
“In the second and third quarters, we were able to hold our own and actually chip into their lead a little,” Deprey added. “We came up with a way against their press that when we executed properly, we were able to run and get some good shots out of it. I think Jenna’s three gave us some new life and we believed that we could play with them.”
The Vikings cut the margin to nine heading into the fourth quarter, but Presque Isle went on another big run thanks to the defensive pressure and ended up outscoring Caribou 23-6 in the quarter.
“In the second half our defense was much tougher and Selander especially had a tough time getting open,” said Hudson, who employed a box-and-one against the talented Viking senior. “Chelsea Nickerson did a wonderful job on her.”
Megan Ireland came off the bench to score 13 points, including two three-point field goals, for PI. Kayla Richards and Nickerson had eight and seven points, respectively.
Rebecca McDougal joined Selander in double figures with 12 points. Alexa Massey, who battled foul trouble throughout the contest, finished with eight.
In last Wednesday’s boys game, Presque Isle was able to hold Caribou’s leading scorer, Matt Till, to just three points for the entire game and outscored the Vikings 33-22 over the second half to come out on top, 64-48.
Caribou’s Roland Thibodeau scored seven first-quarter points and kept his team close early, however he got in foul trouble and PI was able to seize control in the second after leading by a mere two points after one period of play. Alex Tuttle scored 13 points and Oliver Zubrick 10 in the first half as the Wildcats went ahead 31-26 at intermission.
“I thought we just played really well for the most part,” said PI coach Tim Prescott. “We rebounded very well and executed what we worked on in practice.”
Stephen St. Peter’s five points accounted for all of Caribou’s offense in the third quarter as PI was able to build a nine-point advantage. Meanwhile, Tuttle’s tough defense on Till kept Caribou’s senior forward without a point through the first three quarters.
“Alex was always right there,” Prescott said, “but I thought we defended really well as a team. We were beating their guys to the spot, hedging screens and took away the passing lanes.
“Caribou has done a good job executing their offense throughout the season and we did what we had to do to match that.”
Viking coach Chris Casavant said his team, which has taken pride in its defense during the first half of the season, let down in that aspect of the game against the Wildcats.
“We had some breakdowns,” Casavant said. “They have three guys [Zubrick, Tuttle and Dyer] who can really hurt you and they all had their moments against us.”
Till finally reached the scoring column with a three-pointer in the fourth, but Presque Isle’s Travis Dyer shook off offensive struggles himself over the first three quarters by putting 19 on the board over the final eight minutes.
Zubrick finished with 20 points and Tuttle had eight rebounds to go along with his 12 first-half points. Brandon Bonville came off the bench to spark the Wildcats with seven points.
Junior point guard Chad Caverhill led Caribou with 12 points, while St. Peter added 11, Thibodeau 10 and Branden Holdsworth nine.
Other girls’ summaries through Monday, Jan. 17 are as follows:
Old Town 42, Caribou 40 — At Old Town Monday, Jenna Selander poured in 26 points, including 13 free throws, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Old Town. Danielle Violette added seven points for Caribou.
Caribou led 12-10, 27-15 and 38-25 at the quarter breaks. Old Town outscored the Vikings 17-2 in the final quarter.
Caribou 63, Bucksport 50 — At Caribou Saturday, Selander tossed in a season-high 27 points to lift the Vikings past Bucksport. Massey added 19 points (a career best) for Caribou. Other Viking top scorers were Rebecca McDougal with seven and Dayna Michaud with six.
The Vikings started slow according to their coach, but a huge 23-point fourth quarter propelled the team to victory.
Washburn 57, Van Buren 46 — At Van Buren Friday, Rebecca Campbell netted 25 points to lead Washburn over the Crusaders for their 10th win on the season. Carmen Bragg added 16 points, while Nicole Olson added nine.
Parise Rossignol had 22 points for Van Buren, while Ashlie Wilson added 18.
Fort Fairfield 60, Katahdin 32 — At Stacyville Friday, Danielle Tracy tallied 15 points as the Tigers bested Katahdin. Amanda Hotham chipped in 13 points, while Sydney Churchill added 11. Fort Fairfield has won six straight games.
Caribou 57, Fort Kent 42 — At Caribou Thursday, Selander tossed in 19 points to lift the Vikings past Fort Kent. McDougal added 13 for the Vikings, while Massey chipped in nine.
Washburn 60, Limestone-MSSM 39 — At Washburn Wednesday, Rebecca Campbell tallied 23 points to lead Washburn. Carsyn Koch and Carmen Bragg each had 11 points in the win, while Sarah Sjoberg added eight.
Daniele Pelkey led the Eagles with 10 points.
Summaries of other boys games played are as follows:
Caribou 38, Old Town 32 – On Monday, the visiting Vikings took the lead in the second quarter and used solid defense to record their second win of the season over the Coyotes.
Stephen St. Peter had 10 points, Chad Caverhill nine, Matt Till eight and Roland Thibodeau seven points for Caribou, which won for the ninth time against just two defeats.
Cole Haskell scored eight to lead 4-7 Old Town.
Caribou 48, Bucksport 40 – The Vikings dug themselves out of an seven-point halftime deficit and rallied for the home victory Saturday.
Caverhill scored 14 points and had five rebounds, two assists and two steals. St. Peter notched 11 points, Branden Holdsworth 10 points and five boards and Matt Till eight rebounds.
Katahdin 55, Fort Fairfield 49 – Four players hit for double figures Friday at Stacyville as the Cougars avenged an early-season loss to the Tigers.
Kolby Gallagher’s 16 points led Katahdin, while Travis Noyes netted 20 to lead Fort, which fell to 6-5 with the loss.
Washburn 69, Hodgdon 40 – In a make-up game held Thursday in Washburn, the Beavers took it to the Hawks behind Worcester’s 19 points and Connor Fitzpatrick’s 13.
Ten different players reached the scoring column for the Beavers, who bolted to a 35-14 lead at the half.
Fort Fairfield 81, Limestone-MSSM 44 – The Tigers received a career-best 21 points from Jahleel Williams, while Noyes had 12 rebounds, five assists and six steals as Fort Fairfield kept Limestone-MSSM winless on the season.
Williams went 5 for 6 from beyond the three-point line and also grabbed five rebounds.
Josh Forsman scored 12 points for the Eagles.
