BANGOR, Maine- The Caribou Vikings rallied and outscored the Ellsworth Eagles 22-7 in the third quarter on Wednesday afternoon, and became the first team to punch their ticket to Championship Saturday with a 65-58 boys basketball win in a Class B Maine Principals’ Association semifinal game at the Cross Insurance Center.
Ellsworth (14-7) started strong opening the game on a 7-0 run, with all seven points coming from Jackson Curtis. Caribou answered that with a 7-0 run of their own, but was never able to take a first half lead. The Eagles led 21-17 after one quarter, led by as many as six early in the second, and took a 35-29 lead into halftime.
A three point play by Parker Deprey gave Caribou (17-3) their first lead of the lead of the game with 4:34 left in the third quarter. After Ellsworth immediately pushed back into the lead by a point, Caribou ran off 12 straight points led by eight points from Alex Bouchard who had 11 in the stanza. The Vikings led 51-42 after three.
Ellsworth didn’t have any quit however, chipping back into the lead and cutting it to just two points at 57-55 on a three pointer by Devin Grindle with two minutes to play. Bouchard though made two moves down the lane for layups, and the Vikings made 4-6 from the foul line down the stretch to put it away.
Caribou was led by Bouchard who had 22 points, 17 in the second half. P. Deprey finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Isaac Marker had 14 points, while Austin Findlen also contributed 10. J. Curtis was the game high scorer with 24 points and five rebounds for Ellsworth. Darby Barry added 12 points, while H. Curtis finished with 10.
Caribou faces the top seeded Hermon Hawks in the regional final Saturday at 3:45 pm. Hermon has won 42 straight games dating back to last season.
Ellsworth guard Darby Barry looks to make a move around Caribou defender Parker Deprey during action in a boys Class B semifinal contest on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Photo by Lisa Prescott (click to enlarge)
ELL 21 14 7 16- 58
CAR 17 12 22 14- 65
Rebounds- Ellsworth 17 Caribou 23
Free throws- Ellsworth 6-10 Caribou 13-19
Turnovers- Ellsworth 12 Caribou 7
