Mike Klick of Lewiston High School attempts to the keep the ball inbounds during Thursday’s game against Oxford Hills in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
Yusuf Dakane is one of the top players in the state, and teammate Jibril Holloman has stepped up and provided scoring punch to the Lewiston boys basketball team this season.
Also playing key roles for the Blue Devils (6-2) during their five-game win streak are Eli Bigelow and Michael Klick, a pair of hard-nosed players who are as ready and willing to fulfill smaller tasks as they are to make big plays.
“They remind me of old-fashioned, you know, ’50s blue-collar kids,” Lewiston coach Elgin Physic said following Thursday’s 51-46 victory over Oxford Hills. “Really, they’re the type of kids that, you know, they (are like) old-school construction workers, they bring their helmet and their lunch pail and they just work their butts off. They really just work. They’re like the glue, that toughness that we need.”
Bigelow and Klick are both members of the Lewiston football team, and they bring some of the football physicality to the basketball court.
Klick, a 5-foot-9 junior, hit a pair of corner 3-pointers during the second quarter for a one-man 6-0 run as the Blue Devils built a lead over the previously unbeaten Vikings (7-1). In the decisive fourth quarter, he scored four points, including a pair of free throws. He finished with 13 points.
He went airborne in an attempt to save the ball from going out of bounds. Early in the third quarter, he suffered a leg injury that caused enough pain for him to loudly express his discomfort. He later shook off another injury and, since the Blue Devils only used seven players, played most of the game.
Bigelow went on a 4-0 run with a pair of baskets in the first quarter after Oxford Hills tied the score at 7-7. He also sealed the win with a pair of free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Bigelow, a 6-foot-tall senior, has had a few high-scoring games — 14 points against Portland and 19 against Edward Little — but he also has been an important part of the Blue Devils’ defense. When Lewiston is playing zone defense, Bigelow will guard one of the opponent’s top players, such as Oxford Hills’ Teigan Pelletier — a fun hoops matchup of two of Maine’s most dynamic football players — or he’ll be playing close to the basket and vying for rebounds.
The Blue Devils have been playing without 6-foot-4 Caed Langley, which leaves them undersized for Class AA, and requires players like Bigelow, Klick and Caden Boone to match up with taller opponents.
Boone also made some nice hustle plays Thursday against Oxford Hills, and he made a heads-up play to break free and score the basket that pushed Lewiston’s one-point lead to three points, 49-46, with about a minute remaining in the fourth.
MT. BLUE HALL
In between the Mt. Blue girls and boys home games against Brewer on Saturday, at approximately 6 p.m., the Mt. Blue Hall of Fame committee will induct its first class.
The Mt. Blue Hall of Fame class includes athletes Mike Adams, the 1990 Mr. Maine Basketball who has led Edward Little to two state championships; Heather Ernest, the 2000 Miss Maine Basketball; Dustin Ireland, the 1996 Fitzpatrick Trophy recipient; Ryan Leib and Sam Webber.
Jim Bessey and Ray Caldwell will be inducted as coaches. Bessey, currently an assistant coach for the UMaine-Farmington men’s basketball team, compiled a 421-267 mark during 36 seasons coaching basketball at Mt. Blue. Caldwell coached the school’s football team from 1972 to 1992, which included three state titles.
Paul “Bucky” Sproul and Robert Stevens Sr. will be inducted as contributors.
Also being inducted is the 2000 girls basketball team that, led by Earnest, won the second of two consecutive Class A state championships. Players and coaches of that team include Amber Alexander, Marget Blauvelt, Becky Corey, Kim Drosdik, Earnest, Kristy Kiernan, Amanda James, Jolene Powers, Kiley McGuire, Brandy Sloan, Avery Stevens, Andrea Tuttle, Michelle Vining, Rachael Yates, Susan Hastings, Alena Hooper, Chandler Woodcock, Rachel Austin, Stella McLean and Jon Barry.
The Brewer at Mt. Blue girls game begins at 4:30 p.m., and the boys are scheduled to play at 7 p.m.
UNBEATEN TRIO
Nearly a month into the 2022-23 season, three area boys and girls basketball teams are still undefeated.
The defending Class C state champion Dirigo boys have an 8-0 record, while the Oxford Hills girls are 8-0 and the Spruce Mountain girls are 7-0.
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