CARIBOU, Maine — With the season rapidly coming to a close, the Caribou boys picked up a huge Heal Point worthy victory over Presque Isle Wednesday.
Senior Braeden Sargent led the Caribou boys with 14 points to a come-from-behind, 65-57, victory over the Presque Isle Wildcats. With the win, Caribou improved to 4-13 on the season, jumping up to the 13th seed in Class B North. Presque Isle (9-8) is now ranked fifth in the same region.
The Presque Isle girls squad kept its calm and collected a 58-48 victory over the Vikings. The Wildcats improved to 12-6 on the year and are ranked fourth in Class B North as of Thursday afternoon. The Vikings dropped to 8-9 and are ninth in the same division.
In the boys contest, Presque Isle established an early lead over Caribou, ending the first quarter 18-14 in favor of the Wildcats. Presque Isle continued its momentum, keeping up good communication and ball control, ending the first half with a six point lead over the Vikings, 34-28.
Presque Isle had been effective at keeping its early game momentum throughout the season, but Caribou came out swinging in the second half. The Vikings slowly closed the gap, while also bolstering the team’s defenses and limiting the opponents scoring. Presque Isle clung to a slim 45-40 lead heading into the final quarter.
While Caribou was performing admirably the whole game so far, the Vikings exploded in the fourth quarter. Their communication tightened, increasing their scoring potential and earning an additional 25 points in the final quarter. After being behind throughout the game, the Vikings managed to pull ahead of the Wildcats and maintain their lead until the final buzzer, winning the game with a final score of 65-57.
For Caribou, Sargent led the team with 14 points, followed by Avery Thibodeau with 13 points; Ari Plante, Reece Cavagnaro and Kayman Sargent, each added eight; Tristan Robbins and Liam Dee, both had six; and Wesley Lapointe chipped in two.
“I thought we played great,” said Caribou boys varsity coach Kyle Corrigan. “I told the guys before the game that we didn’t need a perfect 32 minutes, but we needed a perfect 32 minute effort, and they gave us that effort the entire time. The guys played extremely hard and were really composed today. I am really proud of how we played and how we executed and I couldn’t be happier for the guys, especially my two seniors. Great packed crowd for senior night and they both played great today.”
Caribou’s two seniors, Breaden Sargent and Ari Plante, took time to reflect on their final regular season game.
“It felt great, we came out and it was a lot of fun,” Plante said. “The final quarter was super energetic and I like it a lot.”
“It felt just great being out there with the team, just amazing,” Sargent said. “I think I did well rebounding and hitting my three’s early in the game to get us fired up.”
For Presque Isle, Malachi Cummings led the team with 19 points, followed by Noah Yarema with 16; Xavier McAtee added 15; Brayden Castonguay had three; and both Jackson Maynard and Jack Buck both had two.
For the girls game, Presque Isle maintained a steady lead over Caribou, having a 34-29 lead over the Vikings by halftime.
In the second half, the Wildcats had a stronger defensive focus, limiting Caribou’s scoring. This did come with a cost though, as the Wildcats were not scoring as much from the first quarter. By the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats maintained their lead, 45-39.
The Wildcats had a strong finish in the final quarter, but Caribou did well to try and limit Presque Isle’s scoring. The Vikings couldn’t overcome the Wildcats this time around, ending the game, 58-48, in favor of Presque Isle.
For Presque Isle, Faith Sjoberg led the way with 17 points, followed by Rossalyn Buck with 14; Sadie LaPointe and Anna Jandreau, both nine; Karlyn Gilmour, six; and Courtney Cane, three.
“It went really well,” said Presque Isle girls varsity coach Jeff Hudson. “I know that Caribou is a good team, and we are lucky that we made a lot of shots tonight and stepped up big towards the end.”
For Caribou, Madelynn Deprey led the Vikings with 20 points, followed by both Ashlyn Bouchard and Selena Savage, both with eight; Abby Leahy, six; Ainsley Caron, four; and Gabbie Sutherland chipped in two.
CARIBOU, Maine — February 9, 2022 — Caribou’s Gabbie Sutherland looks to pass to a teammate while Presque Isle’s Anna Jandreau defends during a basketball game on Wednesday. Presque Isle won 58-48(David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
CARIBOU, Maine — February 9, 2022 — Presque Isle’s Xavier McAtee jumps for the basket while Caribou players Avery Thibodeau (34), Liam Dee (32), Dylan Bouchard (20), Braeden Sargent (5) and Ari Plante (3) attempt to stop him during a basketball game on Wednesday. Caribou won 65-57. (David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
CARIBOU, Maine — February 9, 2022 — Presque Isle’s Faith Sjoberg runs past Caribou’s Madelynn Deprey (15) and Abby Leahy (24) during a basketball game on Wednesday. Presque Isle won 58-48. (David DiMinno | The Aroostook Republican)
