OLD TOWN – If the Caribou boys keep it up, they might single-handedly destroy the popular notion of run-and-gun County basketball.

The Vikings worked it inside with their halfcourt game on offense while eschewing the 3-pointer and used a restrictive man-to-man defense to limit Old Town’s potent offense and post a 46-41 victory over the Coyotes at MacKenzie Gym Saturday afternoon.

“We don’t win pretty,” said Caribou coach Chris Casavant, whose Vikings improve to 7-1. “We play halfcourt, man-to-man and we run motion offense. If you want to play us man-to-man, we don’t mind the score being in the 40s because we think we play good defense, too.”

Indeed they do. Old Town shot 35.8 percent from the field in this Eastern Maine Class B midseason marquee matchup.

Then again, Caribou didn’t shoot the lights out either at 36.2 percent from the field for the game. That was after shooting 28 percent in the first half.

“We really didn’t shoot the ball very well that first half,” said Caribou forward Ben Rosser. “We were trying to shoot too much outside and decided we needed to get to the free throw line, so we attacked the middle and played more our normal game.”

The 6-foot-3 junior was a key part of that effort as he scored 12 of his 17 points and grabbed seven of his game-high 11 rebounds in the second half.

Neither team led by more than six points for the first 24 minutes, but a 9-2 scoring run by the Vikings to close the third quarter and open the fourth proved to be the game-changer even after a furious rally by the Coyotes in the last 31/2 minutes.

Rosser, who sparked Caribou’s big run with six points, said his Vikings had to regroup.

“We worked way too hard for that lead and we didn’t want to throw it away,” he said.

After Caribou took a 42-32 lead with 3:55 left, the Coyotes closed the gap to a single point (42-41) three minutes later. Caribou’s Kyle Corrigan ended the 3:27 scoring drought by hitting two foul shots with 28 seconds left. The Vikings turned up the defensive pressure and turned the tables on the Coyotes by holding them scoreless for the final 54 seconds.

“I like the way we came right back with a run of our own after they went up 10 late,” said Clark. “We didn’t quit and I think there’s a lot we can take away from that.”

Corrigan came up big down the stretch as he hit three of four foul shots in the final 28 seconds to help Caribou hold on. The senior guard finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

“The Corrigan kid is so quick, we couldn’t press them effectively and keep it out of his hands,” said Old Town coach Marty Clark, whose Coyotes are now 6-3.

“Old Town took away a lot of things we were trying to do and we struggled offensively, but we still found a way to win on the road,” said Casavant.

Ethan Shanley, Old Town’s 6-5 senior center, led the Coyotes with a game-high 18 points along with seven rebounds. He was Old Town’s lone double-digit scorer.

aneff@bangordailynews.net

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VIKINGS 46, COYOTES 41

Caribou (7-1) Old Town (6-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Corrigan 2 11 7 10 11 Bartlett 1 2

Schuster 0 2 1 2 1 Boucher 0 2 2

Rosser 8 16 1 2 17 Paradis 1 3 2

Rossignol 2 6 1 2 5 Hussey 1 1 2

Anderson 2 6 2 5 6 Ba 2 11 6

Brown 0 2 0 0 0 Shorey 2 3 5

St. Peter 3 4 0 0 6 Ziegnbien 1 4

Wilkins 0 1 0 0

Shanley 6 13 6 18

Totals 17 47 12 21 46 Totals 14 39 13 17 41

Caribou 10 18 34 46

Old Town 11 18 30 41

3-pt. goals – Caribou (0-3): Corrigan 0-1, Rossignol 0-1, St. Peter 0-1; Old Town (0-6): Boucher 0-1, Ziegenbien 0-1, Wilkins 0-1, Ba 0-3

JV: Caribou 40-35

Attendance: 300 (est.)