Caribou High used lock-down defense and fast-break basketball to overpower previously unbeaten York, 65-44, and win the Class B boys basketball state championship Saturday at Cross Insurance Arena.
Both teams finished with 21-1 records. It’s Caribou’s third Class B title in the last six seasons under coach Kyle Corrigan, also winning in 2019 and 2020.
York was trying to win its first state championship since 1991. When Lucas Ketchum opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut Caribou’s lead to 26-25, the game had the feel of one that would go to the wire – much like the Class B girls final earlier Saturday between Caribou and Biddeford.
“That ending really hyped us up,” said Caribou guard Kaymen Sargent.”We wanted to win more after that.”
Not surprisingly, Cross Arena had a strong Caribou presence. Maroon-clad fans, most having made a 300-mile trip from northern Aroostook County to Portland, filled half the arena. The school’s brassy band, cheerleaders, and U.S. Senator and Caribou native Susan Collins added to the festive feel.
When Owen Corrigan, nephew of the Vikings’ coach, got out for layups in transition early in the third quarter, it started a 19-4 run.
“Every time, I was leaking out,” Owen Corrigan said. “We got out in transition and scored some good points.”
The quarter was punctuated by consecutive 3-pointers from lanky forward Landen Belanger.
Caribou’s lead peaked at 56-31 with an offensive rebound basket by Tristen Robbins. At that point, Caribou had outscored York 30-9 in the second half.
Belanger led Caribou with 16 points, making his first six shots. Corrigan finished with 13 points, as did Kaymen Sargent, who also kept York’s top scorer, Reece MacDonald, from getting on a roll.
“It was just meant to be,” Belanger said. “It’s just every day practicing, doing anything with these guys. I’m just so happy right now.”
Robbins, the Vikings’ leading scorer throughout the season, finished with eight points after being saddled with two early fouls. Caribou went to a two-big lineup of the 6-5 Robbins and 6-6 Colby Ouellette (six points in the fourth quarter). That negated an advantage York often has with its combination of Ketchum (three points) and Lukas Bouchard (nine points, three in the second half.)
MacDonald was the only Wildcat in double figures with 14 points. After York made 7 of 11 shots in the first quarter to take a 14-12 lead, the Wildcats repeatedly had to settle for difficult looks against tight defense and shot 10 of 41 (24.4%) over the final three quarters.
“Our defense is predicated on tough 2s. We want to make them take tough 2s and contested 3s. No catch-and-shoot 3s and no layups,” Kyle Corrigan said. “I think the difference today was they took tough 2s and we finished every possession with a rebound.”
During the South regional, York senior point guard Ryan Cummins often used his quickness to blow by his defender, draw another defender and set up others. But Owen Corrigan was able to stick with Cummins, who finished with eight points.
“He’s easily the quickest kid I’ve ever guarded,” Owen Corrigan said. “I’ve guarded some great players and I knew he was quick, so I had to stay in front of him.”
York was also used to having success in transition and via second-chance hoops. That didn’t happen against Caribou.
“For really the first time all season, I thought we were on the other end of the transition game, where the other team had eight to 10 points and we didn’t have any,” said York coach Matt Regan. “Caribou is a very good team. This is one where you tip your cap to Caribou.”
For Caribou, the idea of a team being a family is more than a metaphor. The girls team had just won the Class B title in unfathomable fashion in overtime, scoring four points at the free-throw line in the final 1.5 seconds to beat Biddeford, 49-48. The top girls player, Madelyn Deprey, is the sister of boys’ assistant coaches Parker and Sawyer Deprey, who were standouts on the Vikings’ 2019 and 2020 championship teams. The winning points in the girls game came from Quinn Corrigan after she stole an inbounds pass following Madelyn Deprey’s free throws. Quinn Corrigan is the niece of Kyle Corrigan and brother of Owen Corrigan.
“We are like a family, but this is a family,” Kyle Corrigan said. “We spend so much time together in the winter. … This is a family. We have guys popping into practice. ‘I’m home for break, can I come in?’ This is bigger than basketball for us. That’s been our goal and our mentality. When we came in as a coaching staff (in 2018-19), I told them (in the interview) that I want these guys to ask me to their wedding some day. That’s my goal.”
The boys team wore warm-up shirts with the name “Iffy” on the back. That was to honor Ifeanyi “Iffy” Sargent, a player on the 2019 championship team who died in January. Kaymen and Tyson Sargent were Iffy’s nephews. After the game, Kaymen Sargent wore his uncle’s No. 54 jersey.
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