Camden boys win, Caribou next for ‘Jammers

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BANGOR – At the season’s start, first-year varsity player Jon Chasse became a surprise starter as injuries hit the Caribou Vikings. Once the Vikings were fully healed, Chasse went to the bench and bid his time, waiting for an opportunity to contribute however he could.

The sophomore forward has had several opportunities since, but none more critical than those he had Friday afternoon. He went 3-for-4 from the line and grabbed a crucial rebound – all in overtime – to help lead the Vikings to a 69-66 Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinal win over Winslow at the Bangor Auditorium.

Caribou will meet top Southeast seed Camden Hills in a 3:35 p.m. Wednesday semifinal. The 19-1 Windjammers blew by Foxcroft Academy 58-43 Friday night.

Chasse, who entered the game in the second quarter, didn’t really make his presence felt until he came in for starting swingman Ben Cyr, who became the second Vikings player to foul out of the game with 1:05 left in OT. Thirty-five seconds later, he was fouled in the lane and calmly hit both foul shots to put the Vikes up 67-65.

With 11 seconds to play, Caribou’s Matt Nason hit one of two from the line – after Winslow called back-to-back timeouts to try and freeze him up – to put his team up 68-66. Winslow set up for a final shot, which came from junior guard Micah Grant (16 points) over three defenders from the high post with five seconds left. The ball took a big bounce off the right side of the rim, fell to the left side, and fell into Chasse’s outstretched hands.

“I just saw a bunch of guys go up and I just grabbed it and held it as tight as I could,” said Chasse.

Chasse was fouled with one second left and hit the first free throw. He missed the second, and even though Winslow was able to rebound it, the Raiders had no time for a final shot.

“My legs were shaking real bad, but making that very first one took the pressure off a lot,” Chasse said.

Of course, Chasse’s heroics wouldn’t have been possible, or even relevant had it not been for the effort turned in by senior co-captain Joel Griffeth.

The 6-foot guard was simply unflappable as he shot 70.6 percent from the field (12-for-17) for the game on the way to 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists – all game highs. His key shot was a 3-pointer he buried from the right wing with 90 seconds left in overtime. He created the open shot after faking his primary defender and taking it before the backup guy could get a hand in his face. The shot put Caribou up 65-63.

“As things get closer, I try to look more for my shot,” Griffeth said. “They made that tough today, but I have confidence in my teammates and they came through.”

Senior co-captain Tyler Giles had 11 points and eight boards for the 10-10 Vikes before fouling out with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter.

Winslow, which winds up 11-9, made up a 14-point deficit early in the third thanks to tight, man-to-man defense and steady, balanced scoring that produced two 18-point quarters. Sophomore guard Josh LaPointe had 13 points, four boards, and five assists. Sophomore forward Adam Haskell had 15 points and six rebounds.

Friday night, the ‘Jammers used their trademark pressure defense, depth, and perimeter shooting to wear down the stubborn Ponies, who stayed with Camden for the better part of three quarters. Camden didn’t put the game on ice until the fourth, which they began with a 9-0 run.

“We just tried to turn up the intensity,” said 6-4 senior forward Tyler Warren, who led Camden with 16 points. “Since we weren’t getting shots early, we figured we’d wear them down eventually and it’s only a matter of time before one of us finds their stroke.”

Senior guard Troy Gabriele (11 points) was the ‘Jammers’ only other double-digit scorer as they used balanced scoring, rebounding (37-33 edge overall, 17-9 offensively), and defense (12 turnovers to 22 by FA) to pull away.

Freshman guard Matt Carey came off the bench to lead the 9-11 Ponies with 14 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Danny White had 12 points.

Camden didn’t shoot particularly well (35.1 percent), but made up for it in volume with 20 of 57 shots good vs. FA’s 15-for-36 effort.

VIKINGS 69, BLACK RAIDERS 66 (OT)

Winslow (11-9) Caribou (10-10)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Browne 0 0 0 0 0 St. Peter 1 2

LaPointe 4 6 3 4 13 Levasseur 0 0

Peters 0 3 0 0 0 Nadeau 0 1 4

Nadeau 0 2 2 2 2 Nason 3 4 9

Helberg 2 2 0 0 5 Chasse 0 1 3

Hughes 3 6 2 2 9 Griffeth 12 17 4 5 30

Lopez 0 3 0 0 0 Cyr 2 7 6

Grant 7 16 0 1 16 Beaulieu 2 4

Blodgett 0 0 0 0 0 Giles 4 11 11

Boutin 1 4 4 6 6

Haskell 5 12 5 5 15

Totals 22 54 16 20 66 24 47 19 26 69

Winslow 16 22 40 58 66

Caribou 14 36 46 58 69

3-pt. goals: Winslow (6-14): LaPointe 2-2, Grant 2-4, Helberg 1-1, Hughes 1-2, Peters 0-2, Lopez 0-3; Caribou (2-2): Griffeth 2-2

WINDJAMMERS 58, PONIES 43

Foxcroft (19-1) Camden Hills (9-10)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Robinson 0 1 0 2 0 Davis 0 1 0

Withee 1 4 4 5 6 Crupi 0 0 0

White 5 11 2 3 12 May 0 3 0

Croan 0 1 0 0 0 Gabriele 4 10 0 2 11

Lizotte 0 0 0 0 0 Moro 1 6 2

Imbert 1 2 1 4 3 Wood 0 1 0

Kennedy 1 1 0 0 2 T. Stammen 3 8

Carey 5 12 2 2 14 Warren 6 18 16

Gosselin 0 0 0 0 0 Fitzgerald 0 0

Perry 1 1 1 2 4 O’Brien 0 1 0

Hall 1 2 0 0 2 G. Stammen 1 3 5

Robinson 0 1 0 0 0 W. Dennen 2 7

Lippman 3 5 3 9

Massey 0 1 0 0

Totals 15 36 10 18 43 20 57 11 25 58

Foxcroft 10 23 34 43

Camden Hills 7 31 43 58

3-pt. goals: Foxcroft (3-7): Carey 2-3, Perry 1-1, Withee 0-2, White 0-1; Camden Hills (7-28): Gabriele 3-7, T. Stammen 2-2, G. Stammen 1-2, Warren 1-9, May 0-2, Massey 0-1, Wood 0-1, Davis 0-1, Moro 0-3