Played at The Pit to accommodate Old Town and Orono’s raucous fanbases, Tuesday’s regular season finale between the rival boys basketball teams did not disappoint, as the reigning champion Red Riots outlasted the No. 1 Coyotes, 59-48.
Like their overtime thriller at Old Town earlier this season, Tuesday’s prizefight between the championship hopefuls went wire–to-wire, with four lead changes in the fourth quarter alone.
Up 46-45 with three minutes remaining, Old Town let the game escape them as Orono used two junior Will Francis steals, a senior Pierce Walston putback and a layup through contact for senior Ben Francis to make it 52-46 and never look back.
“It was electric,” Ben Francis said. “We knew that game was going to be a dogfight, especially in that environment. We just had to keep our composure.”
With the win, No. 3 Orono knotted the season series 1-1, and improved to 15-3. Playing without star senior point guard Grayson Thibeault for the second consecutive game, Old Town moved to an identical 15-3.
Losers of two straight, the Coyotes still retain the No. 1 seed in Class B North, and are glad to know Thibeault’s ankle injury is expected to be completely healed come tournament time. The Red Riots moved up from the No. 5 slot to No. 3 with their win.
“They’re a great team without Grayson, and an amazing team with him,” Will Francis said. “They were really hot tonight, hitting all those threes. It was great to play against that, in this atmosphere. It’s a very nice way to end the season.”
Sharpshooting senior guards Aiden Gomm and DJ Francis drilled seven 3-pointers for the Coyotes, who sank 10 total threes on the night. Running the floor for Old Town were junior point-forward Emmitt Byther and senior forward Brendan Mahaney, who combined for 15 points, five offensive boards and nine assists.
The Red Riots countered with nine 3-pointers of their own, including four for sophomore Bergen Soderberg who finished with 16 points.
All-Mainer Pierce Walston was Orono’s leading scorer with 19 points, and Ben Francis tacked on 12. Ben’s younger brother Will was the Red Riots’ jack of all trades, logging five points, five steals, three assists and two blocks for Orono.
“It was just an amazing experience; a crazy atmosphere,” Soderberg said. “They’re a really talented team, but we’re a great team too. The tournament will get some good games out of us.”
Correction: An earlier version of this report misspelled Grayson Thibeault’s name and misstated how many points Bergen Soderberg scored.
