CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Vikings overcame a strong defensive effort by rival Presque Isle to defeat the Wildcats 49-36 in a Class B North preliminary boys basketball game Wednesday night.
The 5th-seeded Vikings advanced to face No. 4 Orono in the quarterfinals of the tournament at 9 a.m., Saturday in the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The game began in a close head-to-head battle with each team trading points during the first quarter, but Caribou was able to pull away as the crowd roared with enthusiasm. Caribou came into the preliminary game with a season record of 12-4 while Presque Isle had a 5-13 record.
“We got a little shaky in the first quarter,” said Caribou Head Coach Kyle Corrigan. “Presque Isle really amped up the defense there on us.”
Top scorers for Caribou were junior Tristan Robbins with 13 points, sophomore Owen Corrigan netting 11 points, and junior Kaymen Sargent scoring 8 points.
The Wildcats stayed competitive against the Vikings with top scorers senior Wyatt Young scoring 9 points, sophomore Eli Mosher contributing 8 points, and senior Jack Buck netting 7 points.
“It’s not like this all round the state of Maine this is a special place [with] the Caribou and Presque Isle rivalry,” Corrigan said.
“[Orono] beat us last year in the quarterfinals down there, so I’m expecting a good game,” Corrigan said.
