Staff Writer
Popcorn and rubber-soled squeaks heralded the beginning of the 2007-08 basketball season this weekend with area varsity teams testing in pre-season tournaments. Fans had an early taste of the action to come in regular season games beginning this week.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson Playing in the point guard position, senior Tiger Ryan Noyes looks to make a pass last Friday’s pre-season game against Central Aroostook. Four teams participated in the Washburn tourney.
Class B exhibitions at CHS
Caribou High School hosted their annual pre-season tournament attended by Mattanawcook, Waterville and Carleton/North last Friday and Saturday.
The Caribou boys’ varsity basketball team championed the event by winning both their games. On Friday night, the Vikings conquered over Carleton/North, 69-58. Co-captain Kyle Corrigan led with 21 points followed by Ben Rosser with 15 and Jarryd Rossignol with 12.
On Saturday, Caribou’s up-tempo pace proved too much for Waterville with a final score of 59-51. Rosser netted the most points with 22 and Rossignol had 17.
“I thought we did some things well and some things poorly,” noted coach Chris Casavant. “We did well for having only five practices before playing other high school teams. We know it’s a progressive thing, something that’s not going to happen overnight.”
The ability of other players to step up in the scoring column on Saturday night, according to Casavant, bodes well for the regular season.
The Caribou girls’ varsity basketball team fell to Mattanawcook on Friday, 50-31, and Waterville on Saturday, 58-36.
Class D pre-season at Washburn and Limestone
Washburn District High School held the Washburn Invitational Basketball Tournament on Friday and Saturday attended by the boys’ varsity teams of Washburn, Fort Fairfield, Central Aroostook and Ashland.
The tournament began Friday night with the Panthers meeting against the Tigers. Central Aroostook and Fort Fairfield looked close in the first half, but the Panthers sped away with the 69-54 win.
“We were not intense enough,” commented Fort Fairfield’s head coach, Todd Alley. “We need to put in four quarters of solid basketball. We had a lapse in the second quarter.”
Junior Tiger Austin Dufour led the Tiger scoring with 18 points followed by fellow junior Doug Sharpe with 10. Junior Ryan Noyes sprang to the basket for eight rebounds.
In the following game, the Hornets played to the 74-52 win over the Beavers in a high scoring matchup.
Hornets Tyler Cote and Jeremy Tarr each had 19 points followed by Carl Nemer with 11.
Beaver Cody Frank tallied the most Washburn scores with 13 points. Evan Sperrey netted 10 points and Nick McIntosh had nine.
On Saturday, the Tigers just out shot the Hornets in the third game of the tournament, 61-52.
Dufour again had the top Tiger scoring effort of 16 followed by Josh Booth with 10 and Matt Cresenzo with nine. Alley praised the boys’ ability to bounce back after losing the previous night. According to Alley, the Tigers will need that mentality with their regular season schedule.
Ashland’s Cote shot for 17 points, Nemer 15 and Jeremy Tarr 10. Jason Levesque boxed out for 13 rebounds.
The Hornets’ speed and stealth gave them a combined total of 15 steals in Saturday’s game.
Hall believed the tournament gave the Hornets some beneficial experience. “Each player came away with a positive attitude, while at the same time they each know at least one thing they need to work on individually.”
In the final game, Central Aroostook posted their second victory over Washburn, 60-22. The first quarter the Beavers kept pace with the Panthers, however Central Aroostook eventually proved their competitive experience from seasoned players.
Most valuable players in the Washburn tournament were Fort Fairfield’s Dufour and Central Aroostook’s Manny Martinez. Beaver McIntosh, Hornets Cote and Jeremy Tarr and Panther Cameron York were honored as tournament all-stars.
Limestone Community School/Maine School of Math and Science hosted the Northern Maine Round Robin on Saturday attended by Van Buren, Wisdom, Easton and Limestone/MSSM.
The Limestone/MSSM boys’ lost a tight game in their first competition of the day against Van Buren, 38-36. The second game the Eagles came away with the 37-21 win over Wisdom, and finished in another close scoring match against Easton, 44-34. Matt Enman led the Eagle scoring in all three games with his senior shooting abilities.
“It was nice to see the young kinds play well,” noted coach Ryan Deprey. “We were competitive in all three games and it was good experience.”
The Limestone/MSSM girls’ had a 1-2 record in the tournament.
“We played everybody to get a feel for our players,” said coach Jamie Labreck. “We have a young group and they haven’t seen all the things varsity can throw at us.”
