Title game appearance team’s first in 31 years
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
BANGOR, Maine — The largest crowd so far to turn out for a tournament basketball game at the new Cross Insurance Center was treated to an epic battle.
The game ended in disappointment for the Caribou Vikings, who were making their first appearance in an Eastern Maine championship game since 1983.
Caribou was beaten in overtime by the Old Town Coyotes, 43-41, in a contest that featured seven ties and 12 lead changes. The final had two surprise entrants according to the seedings, as Caribou was ranked fourth and Old Town sixth. The two teams split their regular season games, with each winning on their home floor.
In the end, it was defense throughout the game and offense in the late going provided by Coyote senior guard Garvey Melmed that made the difference as Old Town was able to advance to Friday’s Class B state championship against Poland High School, also a No. 6 seed who knocked off No. 1 Greely in Saturday’s Western Maine title game.
The Vikes took a 38-35 lead with 35 seconds to play in the fourth quarter on a foul shot by Taylor Thibodeau, who had entered the game to shoot two free throws in place of Matt Milliard, forced to leave the floor due to the “blood rule.”
On the ensuing possession, Melmed took a couple dribbles and launched a three-pointer from the wing which bounced on the rim and then hung before finally falling through the net with 20 seconds to play.
Dayne Savage tried a three-pointer with three seconds to go that was off the mark and Derek Richardson’s attempted tip-in also rimmed out to force overtime.
Melmed and Donovan Savage exchanged three-point buckets early in the extra session. Old Town’s Scott Smart then missed the front end of a 1-on-1 opportunity from the foul line to give Caribou the possession.
The Vikings’ Cody Herbert was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound with 1:09 left, but misfired on both his free throw attempts.
Old Town held onto the ball and Melmed drew a foul while dribbling near midcourt with 22 seconds remaining. The conference’s top foul shooter and the north’s foul shooting representative at the upcoming McDonald’s Senior All-Star competition calmly drained both attempts to put his team up by two.
“It’s a free shot and no one is in your face, so that’s why I like to take them,” said Melmed, who also hit some key foul shots in the team’s semifinal win over Ellsworth. “I just try to focus and block out the crowd.”
“He’s as good as gold out there,” said Coyote coach Brian McDormand. “He hit some big shots and I didn’t think we panicked out there.”
Caribou called a timeout and Donovan Savage attempted a three-pointer off the dribble that would have given his team the win, but it was off target and Mitchell Cole of the Coyotes grabbed the rebound as time ticked away.
Old Town used a box-and-one defense on Dayne Savage throughout the game, which limited his effectiveness. Melmed drew the one-on-one assignment and held the Caribou junior to four-of-nine shooting from the field and just 10 points.
“We practiced this defense a lot leading up to this game and my teammates did a good job helping when he got away from me,” Melmed said.
“We kind of go as Dayne goes and if he’s not getting shots and creating opportunities, we struggle,” said Viking coach Chris Casavant. “I think Garvey did a great job. He’s a solid player as he defends and handles the ball well and can score if needed.”
The Vikings’ other players were unable to find their offensive rhythm. The team’s second- and third-leading scorers, Herbert and Richardson, both had just two field goals, with Herbert also making seven free throws to give him a team-high 11 points. Milliard and Kam Manter, the team’s other starters, were also limited to just a combined three field goals.
Caribou was inconsistent from the foul line, hitting on just 15 of its 26 attempts, including just four of 10 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Turnovers were also a factor as the Vikes committed 15, five more than their season average, compared to 13 by the Coyotes.
“I’m proud of these guys and they should be proud of themselves,” Casavant said. “At the beginning of the season, we didn’t expect to go as far as we did, so they did a great job.”
