Staff Writer
CARIBOU – “It felt good,” commented Ali Richards, after the Viking victory over the Golden Bucks in Saturday’s season opener. Richards pounded the courts as point guard and shooting guard for the 42-13 final score.
Staff photo/Meridith Paterson Moving into the guard position, senior guard Kyle Corrigan maneuvers in front of senior guard Eddie Robbins of the Golden Bucks in Saturday’s season opener at Caribou High School.
The Caribou girls’ made the game look easy with artful steals and aggressive rebounds that began their basketball season with a winning record for the first time in a few years, according to head coach Bill Schofield. Richards scored 12 points for the Vikings, followed by Kristen Espling with eight.
“Our defense was really good,” commented Schofield. “We held them to nine points into the fourth … our offense started to flow well, too.”
The CHS girls retook the court for the second half boxing out hard to dominate in rebounds. “We had a huge rebound advantage,” said Schofield. “In the second when we went on an 18-2 run, that was really pivotal. It also allowed us a chance to give everybody a chance to play.”
Spurred by the girls’ home win, the CHS boys claimed a 67-45 victory over Bucksport. Ben Rosser led scorers with 22 points, one shot of which was a three-pointer.
“He jumps well and he has long arms so we try to get the ball to him,” commented head coach Chris Casavant. “He is very athletic.”
Rosser also had eight rebounds.
Jarryd Rossignol added 20 points and teammates Cameron Anderson and Philip St. Peter conquered the hoop for nine points each. Anderson and St. Peter pleased Casavant as they improve on offense.
“We’re not going to be a team to blow you up at the get go,” said Casavant. “We let through too much dribble penetration and gave up too many shots.”
Casavant believes his Vikings can shoot better and will need to improve from their 11-23 free throw record and 45 percent shooting success from Saturday’s game.
Limestone struggles at Fort Kent
The Limestone/Maine School of Mathematics and Science boys found themselves 20 short at the end of four quarters against Fort Kent in their season opener last Friday, 50-30. Eagle Brandon Hopkins had the leading effort for Limestone at Fort Kent with 10 points.
Fort Fairfield has a rollercoaster beginning
Bear and Tiger fervor matched in the bleachers and on the courts in the boys’ season opener Friday night at Easton. The scoreboard showed 21-29 Fort Fairfield at the half. However, Easton gave their home court fans a reason to cheer pacing their way to the 67-59 final score.
Jeremy Brock led the Easton offense with 31 total points, almost half of which he made in the pivotal fourth quarter, scoring 12 points. Sam Bacon and Nate Sanders aimed right for an additional 10 points each.
The Bears outscored the Tigers by 16 points in the second half. “We just started getting to the post and pounded the inside,” said Easton coach Travis Carter.
Carter believes the two squads match well in speed and intensity, making them a treat for bystanders to watch. “We came back and really stuck to it against a very fast team,” noted Carter about the second half statistics. Easton dominated offense with 46 points in the second 16 minutes.
Tigers Josh Booth and Austin Dufour claimed top scoring for Fort Fairfield with 20 and 13 points respectively. Booth made triple three-pointers in for the FFHS effort, proving his worth behind the arc.
“They came out and hit a couple good shots, well defended shots,” commented Tiger head coach Todd Alley about the second half of play. “We gave up some points to a talented team and you can’t do that.”
The game gave coaching staff a new team goal for the boys to keep their opponents to 50 points.
“I couldn’t have been prouder,” explained Alley. “it wasn’t for lack of effort or composure that we lost. We’re right on the edge of where we need to be.”
Clark is three-point threat
The Central Aroostook girls’ varsity squad matched the boys’ record on Saturday with an on-the-road win against Fort Fairfield, 41-25.
Whitney Clark led the Tigers with 11 points. She had three successful attempts from behind the three-point arch.
Clark’s three point finesse led the Fort Fairfield girls to a 49-40 win over Madawaska on the road Monday night. Clark had four triple scores during the four quarters and totaled 20 points.
Staff photo/Tara White Senior forward Ben Rosser scored 22 points for Caribou.
