OLD TOWN, Maine — The Red Riots of Orono outlasted a strong second half push from the neighboring Coyotes of Old Town, closing out the regular season with a 60-48 win as they look to hoist their third straight gold ball in Class B boys basketball.
Three could turn out to be a magic number for Orono in the tournament, and it certainly was during Wednesday night’s game in Old Town. The Red Riots made 11 threes on the night, led by five triples from senior forward Will Francis and four from junior guard Bergen Soderberg.
Francis led both teams in scoring with 23 points on the night.
“We’re feeling good, you know, getting a big win against a rival here in their gym,” Francis said after the game, adding that the win to close out the regular season provided some momentum and confidence after two recent losses against Foxcroft Academy and Ellsworth “that could have been wins.”
Both teams started hot beyond the arc, and seven of the eight first made field goals of the game were 3-pointers. The Red Riots took an 8-6 lead during that exchange from long distance in the first quarter and never trailed again.
“Credit to my teammates finding me in open spots to get up shots,” Francis said. “It was just great to see all the guys hit shots and get to the rim. That was a big reason why we won this game, we were just making shots and getting stops.”
Old Town sophomore guard Tyler Priest knocked down four 3-pointers of his own on the night, and Coyotes freshman Jack DeGrasse added three more. They finished with 12 and 9 points respectively.
The rivalry game, which was senior night for Old Town, felt very much like a playoff atmosphere. Orono led 26-15 at the half, and seemed to be in control after Soderberg set a blistering pace with three of his 3-pointers to start the third quarter. But big shots from Priest and DeGrasse, and relentless play down low from Old Town standout Emmitt Byther kept the game in reach.
Even on a somewhat off night shooting, the senior forward Byther made his presence felt throughout. He was a force on the boards and at the rim, giving the home gym a much needed burst of momentum with an emphatic second quarter dunk. His turnaround jumper early in the fourth quarter cut the Orono lead to three at 40-37. He finished with 15 points to lead his team in scoring.
“When you have a guy as good as him, you want the ball in his hands. He can make things happen,” Old Town head coach Garrett Libby said. “Even on an off night he’s still going to make you better. But if we can keep him settled down and in the areas that he can score, it’s a benefit for us.”
Three points was as close as it got in the fourth quarter, however, with Orono junior forward Matt Allen making a critical three down the stretch and following it up with two more points inside. That put the Red Riots back up by eight, and consistent free throw shooting kept the game out of reach.
“I feel good, I feel like we still have a long way to go,” Francis said when asked about the prospect of competing for a third straight title. “We have to go one game at a time. We just have to push ourselves to a higher limit that we know we can achieve. I think if we push ourselves, we can get there if we really go one game at a time.”
With the win, Orono finishes out the regular season at 12-6 in Class B North, good enough for third place.
“If this team advances in the tournament and makes a run, it really will be based on their closeness,” Orono head coach Ed Kohtala said after Wednesday night’s win. “They’re a tremendously close team emotionally. They play for each other. And it’s sort of the secret sauce of this group, I think.”
Old Town sits at sixth in Class B North at 8-10.
Libby said he thought it was great how his team battled back Wednesday night to keep the game close in the second half.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who are contributing now at this point in the year that we haven’t had earlier in the year. They’ve gotten more opportunities to get more comfortable on the court,” Libby said. “They’re making some shots, which is kind of helping spread the floor for us on offense. Feeling good about that going into the tournament, as long as we can hold our composure.”
