The Caribou Vikings and Orono Red Riots needed extra time to settle Monday night’s Class C boys basketball game, and the visiting Vikings got a huge lift from sophomore Declan Miller in overtime.
The two teams were deadlocked at 47 after four quarters, and Miller gave the Vikings a boost to start overtime by taking a charge and getting the ball back for his team. Caribou capitalized on that offensive foul against Orono by scoring two points and jumpstarting a dominant 10-0 run in overtime.
The Vikings went on to win 57-47.
“It was a huge charge for us,” Caribou coach Kyle Corrigan said about Miller’s gutsy defensive play. “It got us the ball back. We were able to score, and kind of take the lead and get a lot of momentum.”
Corrigan said he was “really proud” of Miller and noted that the team gave Miller player of the game honors in the locker room afterward.
Monday night’s overtime thriller was the most recent edition of what has been a series of close contests between the two teams in recent years. Both Caribou and Orono spent years excelling in Class B North before dropping down to Class C this year as part of a statewide basketball reclassification.
Caribou won the Class B state championship a year ago, and Orono won back to back state titles the two years before that. The Vikings are now 11-2 this season at the top of Class C North, and Orono is currently seventh at 7-6.
Corrigan heaped praise on the Orono team, which has weathered several key injuries so far this season.
“They’re so underrated right now, too, because they’re just finally healthy,” Corrigan said. “They’re a completely underrated team, and they’re different when they’re all out there. Their chemistry is so good.”
Caribou’s Owen Corrigan and Orono’s Brady Hews both put up 22 points to lead all scorers.
Miller had eight points in the game, and was tasked with guarding the prolific Hews on the defensive end.
“I thought Declan made things hard, but you don’t just stop Brady,” the Caribou coach added.
Corrigan was pleased with his team’s defensive effort but said his team was still searching for offensive consistency after battling some seasonal illnesses in its own locker room this winter.
While Owen Corrigan has stepped up into a primary offensive role for the Vikings this year, Miller has shown his mettle on the defensive end.
“Declan is such an energy guy, and he brings it every single day. And he’ll do whatever we ask,” Kyle Corrigan added after the win. “And today it was, ‘I don’t really care if you score, just go guard Brady, and just make things as difficult as possible. I know it’s a hard task.’ He doesn’t ask questions, he just goes out and does his job.”
Caribou has gritted out several close wins so far this season, including a last second victory over reigning Class C North champion Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. And the Vikings coach agreed that these close games during the regular season can help prepare a team for the pressures of tournament time.
“These games are better than blowouts,” Corrigan added. “You grow more from games like this, and losses, than you do from 30-point wins.”