LEWISTON — Lewiston High School’s offense is in the midst of a mid-season slump, but its defense continues to get stronger.
On the heels of one of their worst offensive performances of the year, in which the Blue Devils scored just 35 points, they bounced back with one of their best defensive outings Tuesday against Mt. Blue.
Lewiston held the Cougars to eight first-half points and forced 20 turnovers in a 48-36 victory to snap a three-game losing streak. It tied for the fewest points the Blue Devils have allowed dating back to their season opener against Bangor.
“We’ve defended well throughout the season,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “We’ve lost three straight games and offense is always about finding rhythm whatever sport it is and we haven’t been able to find that. Defensively, we’ve been pretty solid. We’ve given ourselves a chance.”
The Blue Devils’ defense was suffocating at times. Their man-to-man half court trapping style forced Mt. Blue into several turnovers, allowing Lewiston to push the pace the other way. When the Cougars managed to get a shot off, it was one and done as Lewiston held a 54-30 edge on the glass. Mt. Blue didn’t have an answer for 6-foot-10 big man Trever Irish down low.
“We gotta control the boards,” Irish said. “Last game, we didn’t control the boards and that’s probably why we lost. It’s big because we had a lot of second chances and made a lot of them.”
Lewiston (5-4) opened on an 8-0 run and never trailed. The Cougars were kept off the board for the first 4:52 before Brad Durrell knocked down 1-of-2 free throws. Mt. Blue hit its first shot off a jumper from Devon Hoyt with two seconds left in the opening quarter.
Just like in the first quarter, Lewiston started fast in the second, scoring the first eight points. Tykeem Gaines knocked down back-to-back shots to extend the Blue Devils’ lead to 22-4.
Mt. Blue (1-8) didn’t get on the board in the second quarter until 1:41 left in the half. A basket by Drew Parsons snapped the scoreless drought, but the Cougars still found themselves trailing 27-8 at the break.
“That’s what we rely on,” Lewiston senior Ace Curry said. “We rely on our defense. If that’s running good then we’ll get some offense off the break.”
Both offenses went as cold as the outside temperature in the third quarter. Ryan Bell knocked down Lewiston’s lone field goal — a 3-pointer — and the teams combined for just 11 points.
The Blue Devils finished 19-for-72 from the floor and 3-for-13 from behind the arc while the Cougars were 11-for-46.
“I don’t think we’re making bad decisions,” Farrar sad. “I think we’re moving the ball and eventually they’re going to fall.”
Lewiston grabbed a 40-16 lead, its largest of the contest, three minutes into the fourth quarter before Mt. Blue found its shot. The Cougars scored 18 points in the final eight minutes and trimmed Lewiston’s lead down to 12 before running out of time. The Cougars hit three 3s during their run after missing all six attempts through three quarters.
“We ran out of time,” Mt. Blue coach Kevin Main said. “We still worked hard. We had a lot of energy at the end. We got on a little run, but we just ran out of time.”
The Blue Devils were held under 50 points for the third straight game and for the fourth time this season. On the other side of the court, Lewiston has held its past three opponents to 44.7 points per game.
As long as Lewiston’s defense continues to play strong, it isn’t too worried about the current offensive woes.
“It’s going to come,” Curry said. “Our shots will fall eventually. If we keep on playing defense we’ll be fine.”
Isiah Harris led a balanced Lewiston scoring attack with 10 points. Gaines and Kevin Dillingham each had six and Curry and Bell added five a piece.
Parsons and Zack Mittelstadt led the Cougars with seven points each. Mt. Blue has lost eight straight.
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