Vikings secured a 49-48 win against Foxcroft Saturday
DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — With Class B North considered one of the deeper divisions of boys basketball statewide this winter, there’s little tolerance for a slow start to the season.
But Caribou coach Chris Casavant’s mind was focused on something more basic than any premature sense of urgency as the Vikings made the 185-mile trip south from Aroostook County on Saturday to battle Foxcroft Academy in a matchup of teams each seeking its first victory.
“It was more important for us just to play better because of how poorly we played last weekend,” said Casavant, referring to a season-opening, 39-30 loss at John Bapst of Bangor where the Vikings shot 25 percent from the field and committed 25 turnovers.
“And I think we did.”
Caribou’s most experienced player, senior guard Donovan Savage, was instrumental in making that happen, scoring a game-high 19 points to go with four assists as the Vikings secured a last-second 49-48 win.
Savage’s free throw with 3.2 seconds left represented the winning point just after Foxcroft senior forward Hunter Smith had driven the lane for a game-tying, three-point play six seconds earlier.
Savage missed his second free-throw attempt — after making his first 10 tries in the game — but while Foxcroft’s Noah Allen grabbed the rebound the Ponies were unable to get a shot off before time expired.
“We definitely needed a win for confidence, for momentum going forward,” said Savage.
Sophomore forward Nick Allen and senior forward Ricky Sheldon each added 10 points for Caribou.
The Vikings capitalized on early Foxcroft foul trouble and 15 first-half points from Savage to rally from an early 17-7 deficit and take a 29-28 lead into intermission.
Caribou (1-1) then outscored Foxcroft 10-0 in the opening moments of the third quarter to extend its overall run to 14 consecutive points. Sheldon scored the final four points of the first half, then followed a 3-pointer by Savage with four more points before a 3-pointer by junior guard Andre Rossignol from the left of the key gave the Vikings their biggest lead at 39-28 with 5:15 left in the period.
Foxcroft rallied from 3-point land as Smith and reserve guard Phillip Pleninger each made two long-range strikes to help coach Tyler Erickson’s club draw within 44-42 entering the fourth quarter.
Caribou never trailed in the final period but never led by more than four points, and the Vikings eventually found success working the clock down against Foxcroft’s trapping zone defense.
“I thought we did a really good job of possessing the ball the final two minutes of the game,” said Casavant. “We had committed some silly turnovers and missed some easy shots before that, but I thought we did a good job of staying composed and not turning the ball over when they stayed in that zone for as long as they did.”
A spin move from under the basket by Sheldon after a lengthy possession gave Caribou a 48-45 lead with 1:42 remaining, but while Foxcroft then missed two free throws the Ponies got the ball back after a five-second violation against Caribou with 21.3 seconds left.
Smith (15 points, 10 rebounds) drove directly to the basket to tie the game, but when the Ponies inadvertently applied backcourt pressure Savage drove through the defense and earned the game-winning trip to the line.
“We had a few people who made some big shots and we had a few big stops,” said Savage. “They have some great players and made some good shots themselves, but we always responded.”
Pleninger finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, for 0-3 Foxcroft, while Allen contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
