MEDWAY, Maine — The annual East Millinocket/Medway Invitational Basketball Tournament returned after a one-year hiatus during the pandemic.
The Caribou boys and girls traveling teams did not miss a beat, though, as both squads went into the tournament with determination to do well and did precisely that. Both squads came home as tourney champs.
The boys played first on Saturday at Schenck High School against Lincoln. After the first quarter, Caribou held a 15-10 lead. Declan Miller of Caribou started off hot from the field scoring nine points in the quarter.
Concluding the half, Caribou was up 26-16. Lincoln’s guard Cameron Thompson was dominant with his great ball control and court awareness. He had eight points for Lincoln at the half. Caribou came back out strong, but Lincoln did not give up either. The score remained a 10-point lead in favor of Caribou after the third quarter, 36-26. Miller did not let off the gas as he mustered 30 points to help Caribou capture the win, 47-38. Caribou’s Tristan Merchant showed some tremendous defensive plays throughout the contest and also added a basket. Other scorers for Caribou were Chandler St. Peter 12 and Braydon Amero and Peyton Poitras, both with two.
The girls played a single game on Saturday at the Medway Middle School against East Millinocket/Medway. Caribou jumped to the lead quickly 10-4 in the first quarter. Quinn Corrigan of Caribou took charge of the first half scoring 12 to make a halftime lead, 22-8.
Caribou slowed down in the third quarter adding just six points, while East Millinocket/Medway scored just four. Ramping it up again in the fourth quarter, Caribou poured in another 10 points and sealed the victory 38-20. Scorers for Caribou were Quinn Corrigan, 18; Lilly Bell, six; and Carley Levesque, Olivia Trosper and Carley Pickard, each with four.
The Caribou boys played again at 1 p.m. against Calais, who had previously beaten Lee. Jumping out to a 16-8 run in the first quarter, Caribou held Calais scoreless while scoring eight more in the second.
Poitras netted four points in the third to help Caribou continue its lead and capture the win to move into the championship game on Sunday, 45-12. Other scorers for Caribou included Miller, 19; St. Peter, 17; Riley Rossignol, three; and Carter Irving, two.
Sunday morning came early as the Caribou girls had to play Millinocket/Stearns at 8 a.m. The early game did not phase the girls as they jumped out to a six-point lead and maintained that margin through halftime, 18-12.
Scoring continued evenly through the third quarter as well with both teams scoring eight more. In the final quarter action, Caribou came alive with some great passing and execution on offense, knocking down 12 points to the Stearns six. Caribou pulled away with a 38-26 win to move on to the championship.
Scoring for Caribou were Corrigan with 20 points; Bell and Trosper, both six; Levesque, four; and Angel Morningstar, two.
The Caribou boys won the 2022 East Millinocket/Medway Invitational Basketball Tournament over the weekend of Feb. 12-13. Team members are, front from left, Tristan Merchant, Peyton Poitras, Riley Rossignol, Carter Irving, Mason Giles, Austin Giles, and coach Matt Bouchard; and back, Declan Miller, Chandler St. Peter, Braydon Amero, coach Joey Gregson and coach Griffen McNeal.
(Courtesy of Matt Bouchard)
In the boys championship, Caribou was matched up once again with Lincoln. Lincoln, having played two games prior to the championship, was a little tired and beat up. Caribou though was as strong as they had been all weekend, jumping to a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Caribou was on fire both defensively and offensively scoring 20 points, for a halftime lead of 32-18.
Caribou earned the championship title with an impressive final score of 50-22.
Miller was the team’s leading scorer with 24 points, followed by St. Peter, with 16; Irving and Merchant, both four; and Braydon Amero, two.
In the girls championship, Caribou once again faced East Millinocket/Medway. Lilly Bell, playing with a sprained finger, dominated the scoring for Caribou with Quinn Corrigan trailing her by two points. Combined, the two girls finished with 24 points to lead Caribou to a 40-17 rout for the title.
Caribou’s defense was intense, which contributed to its great offensive performance. Rounding out the scoring for Caribou were Bell, 18 points; Corrigan, 16; and Addy Deschesne, Levesque and Morningstar, each with two.
