BANGOR, Maine — The Cross Insurance Center was rocking Friday as the Caribou boys took down Washington Academy in quarterfinal action of the Class B championship tournament.
The Caribou High School Vikings defeated the Washington Academy Raiders 73-49 to advance to the semis against Ellsworth High School on Wednesday.
"The fact that this weather was bad today, we had a hard trip down on the bus and we left about three hours before most of the fans. So it was great to see the turnout for us," said Caribou boys head coach Kyle Corrigan.
Corrigan took the reigns of the Caribou boys team this season. He is leading 11 of his 12 players to their first tournament appearance.
Despite the lack of postseason experience, the Vikings played strong throughout, and the fans rallied behind them.
"It's a sense of community," said Caribou fan Lynn Mcneal. "Support for each other. It's a very big thing, especially for the county people."
Mcneal was just one of hundreds of fans in red and gold supporting the Vikings. "It's been a tradition forever," Mcneal added.
It's exactly 50 years since Mike Thurston hit his game-winning shot to give Caribou its first, and only, state title. That isn't adding any pressure to the current Vikings team however, which is seeded No. 2 in boys Class B North after going 15-3 during the regular season.
"There's no pressure," said Coach Corrigan. "We're just trying to go out and play hard basketball every single night. We're looking any further than the semifinals right now and our guys have bought into that."
The team may be taking it one step at a time, but fans are rushing out of Caribou and down to Bangor to watch their team. "I hope somebody remembered to turn the lights off in Caribou tonight because we're all down here for the ball game," Mcneal said.
The Caribou boys next game against No. 3-seeded Ellsworth will tip off at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.