Nokomis nets sweep of Caribou Free throws lift Warrior boys; Clark powers girls

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NEWPORT – After winning their regular season-opener last weekend, the Nokomis boys had to wait a full week to play their second basketball game thanks to a weather-related midweek postponement.

The Warriors made it worth the wait Saturday afternoon as they capped a doubleheader sweep against Caribou with a 69-63 victory.

Both Nokomis’ boys and girls varsity teams are unbeaten as the girls (3-0) posted a resounding 60-33 win over the Vikings.

In terms of roster makeup, Nokomis’ two varsity teams couldn’t be much more different. The boys feature a veteran roster with eight seniors while the girls field a sophomore-dominated squad with two freshmen and just two seniors. But when it came to Saturday’s keys to victory, they had a lot in common.

Solid rebounding efforts and tight defensive pressure made the difference for both teams as they took control in the second half.

In the boys game, Nokomis took advantage of Caribou foul trouble to put together a game-clinching 9-0 run during a three-minute span late in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors, who entered the bonus foul-shooting situation with 24 seconds left in the third quarter and the double bonus with four minutes to play, shot just 4-for-7 from the line during the run. Thanks in part to a switch from man-to-man to a 1-3-1 zone defense, their less-than-stellar foul shooting didn’t hurt much.

It could have, considering Nokomis’ lone big man in their three-guard lineup – 6-foot-4 center Luke Hayden – fouled out with 5:56 left to play. Hayden was the only Warrior capable of matching up one-on-one with 6-5 Caribou standout James Sam.

But instead of packing it inside to Sam to take advantage of a now-much-smaller Nokomis lineup, the Vikes took a lot of perimeter shots.

“I think it was our own inadequacies that didn’t allow us to get the ball inside,” Caribou coach Jim Carter said bluntly. “When you’ve got a guy who’s 6-5 and he’s matched up on somebody 5-11 or 6-feet, the other players have to make sure they put the ball there when he’s open.”

Instead, the Vikes took the bait offered by Nokomis’ 1-3-1 and bombed away from outside. Sam hit two of three 3-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.

“I think we kind of dared him to shoot out there and he did what we wanted him to do,” said 5-9 sophomore guard Ryan McLellan, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. “He’s a good shooter, but we’d rather have him out there than inside.”

Meanwhile, the fouls were mounting and Caribou lost one of their own starters, junior forward Tyler Giles, with 5:19 to play.

“I think having Tyler Giles go to the bench early was real bad for us because he’s a very good rebounder, great at breaking pressure, and someone with great basketball instincts,” Carter said.

Giles, a former point guard, had four points and four rebounds, but his loss was evident as the Viking fouls mounted and Nokomis proceeded to hit eight of 10 foul shots in the last 2:25 to pull out the win.

Trenton Estes led the Warriors with 15 points and six rebounds while fellow guard Shawn Henderson had 12 points and three steals. Hayden had 10 points, six boards, and three assists.

Senior guard Josh Cyr had a great night for Caribou with 16 points, six assists, and two blocks.

In the girls game, forward Danielle Clark almost single-handedly buried Caribou with a 20-point, 17-rebound effort, but she wasn’t taking a lot of bows after the game as she noted her 0-for-7 effort from the foul line.

“I am a pretty good foul shooter, but I didn’t have any confidence once I went 0-for-4,” said Clark, one of Nokomis’ four sophomore starters. “I did have a lot of rebounds, but that’s mostly because I missed so many easy shots.”

Still, Clark (11 offensive rebounds) was the main reason the Warriors held a 24-7 edge on the offensive boards and a 43-24 advantage overall.

In addition, the Warriors’ man defense helped force 22 Caribou turnovers while Nokomis committed just seven itself.

Caribou was clearly missing the services of junior point guard and clutch scorer Jessica Cyr, who tore a knee ligament against Fort Kent this week and is out for the season.

“We got stagnant in our offense and it was because we did a poor job running it,” said Caribou coach Chris Casavant. “We’re going to have to figure out who’s going to score and who’s going to be a leader for us.”

Senior Ashley Soucie took a big step toward that role with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. New point guard Erin Schloeman also did well against Nokomis’ pressure. Forward Ashley Monahan had 10 rebounds.

Nokomis senior guard-forward Laura Pelkey also had a great game with 14 points and six boards.

Warriors 69, Vikings 63

Caribou boys (0-2) Nokomis (2-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Paytas 0 0 0 0 0 Henderson 3 4 4 6 12

J. Cyr 6 10 2 2 16 McLellan 5 14 3 6 14

Noyes 3 3 0 0 6 Estes 2 9 11 14 15

Nadeau 0 0 0 0 0 Burgess 0 1 0 0 0

Nason 0 1 0 0 0 Peters 2 9 3 3 8

Susee 3 6 1 2 7 Veazie 3 4 0 1 8

Griffeth 3 12 5 7 12 Hayden 5 11 0 2 10

B. Cyr 0 1 0 0 0 Colby 1 1 0 0 2

Sam 7 20 0 0 18

Giles 2 4 0 0 4

Totals 24 57 8 11 63 Totals 21 53 21 32 69

Caribou 17 26 46 63

Nokomis 11 30 50 69

3-pt. goals: Caribou (7-16): Sam 4-6, J. Cyr 2-5, Griffeth 1-4, B. Cyr 0-1; Nokomis (6-12): Henderson 2-2, Veazie 2-3, McLellan 1-2, Peters 1-3, Estes 0-2

Attendance: 600 (est.)

Preliminary: Nokomis JVs 54-50

Warriors 60, Vikings 33

Caribou girls (1-2) Nokomis (3-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Bougie 0 1 0 0 0 Welch 2 5 0 0 6

Soucie 5 11 3 4 13 Preble 0 1 0 0 0

Hannigan 0 2 0 0 0 Pelkey 5 17 2 3 14

Schloeman 3 4 0 0 6 Murray 3 5 0 2 8

Vincent 0 0 0 0 0 Palmer 0 2 1 2 1

King 0 1 0 0 0 Snow 0 1 0 0 0

Drew 1 5 1 2 3 Burnett 0 2 0 0 0

Monahan 3 5 1 4 7 Paradis 1 1 0 0 2

Willey 2 4 0 2 4 Stewart 0 3 0 0 0

Sund 0 0 0 0 0 Merrow 0 3 1 4 1

Lowe 3 7 2 2 8

Clark 10 24 0 7 20

Totals 14 33 5 12 33 Totals 24 71 6 20 60

Caribou 11 21 28 33

Nokomis 12 26 49 60

3-pt. goals: Caribou (0-1): Drew 0-1; Nokomis (6-14): Murray 2-3, Welch 2-4, Pelkey 2-5, Burnett 0-1, Preble 0-1

Attendance: 600 (est.)