Friday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contest between current Eastern Maine Class A fifth-seed Lewiston and No. 6 Brunswick was pretty much over when Blue Devils coach Tim Farrar went to his bench with his team holding a commanding 22-point advantage with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Dragons and their never-quit attitude produced a 14-0 run that had Farrar rethinking his strategy, and his five senior starters stood at the scorer’s table with 30 seconds remaining. A timeout and a Lewiston rebound off a missed free throw salted away the final ticks of the clock, allowing the Blue Devils to leave Brunswick with a 9-6 record after posting a 63-55 victory.
“The Brunswick kids are not going to quit, but it is a big win to win here, and we played really well for most of that game,” said Farrar, whose squad shot 52 percent (25 of 48) from the field. “They enjoy playing on the road, but we always seem to have trouble here. They wanted this one really bad and we got it. We are on a bit of roll right now. We have had some tough games, close ones that we lost and others that we won. Tonight we were able to control the game.”
“I thought the better team won tonight,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson, whose 6-8 Dragons visit Skowhegan on Tuesday at 7 p.m. “Our goal was to make them beat us from behind the line, but they made some shots and it put us on our heels. They went to the rim, and either got a lay-up or a three. We just couldn’t take away both.”
Chabot heats up
Lewiston’s Carter Chabot returned recently after injuring his ankle in the preseason. The senior, still feeling his way through, was able to get his team going in the second quarter.
After a 13-13 deadlock through one, the senior nailed consecutive 3-pointers for a 19-15 lead. He capped a 9-0 run with his third trey as the Blue Devils went to the intermission with a 33-24 lead.
“Second quarter I was feeling really good,” said Chabot, who finished with nine points. “My teammates gave me some good, open looks and I was able to knock them down. Those shots were important and I was happy that they went in. We have good chemistry, and if we get to our full potential by the end of the year, we are going to be a very dangerous team.”
“He has been hurt and his ankle is still pretty gimpy, and having those shots knocked down were huge,” Farrar said.
The Brunswick defense, which came in allowing 50 points a contest, struggled to slow the Lewiston offense, led by Ace Curry and Isaiah Harris. The duo combined for 18 second-half points, with Curry scoring a team-high 15 and Harris adding 12. Trever Irish and Quintarian Brown chipped in seven points apiece.
“We didn’t want to make it a track meet, and they made a bunch of basketball plays,” Hanson said. “They are big, strong, start five seniors, got experience and are very well-coached.”
Brunswick’s Taran Payne scored five quick points early in the third quarter to get the Dragons to 35-29 before Ryan Bell hit the seventh and final 3-pointer for the Blue Devils. After Payne made 1-of-3 at the free-throw line, an 8-2 run led by Tykeem Gaines and Harris upped Lewiston’s lead to 48-32. The Blue Devils led 48-34 after three, and Curry and Harris combined for 13 points in the first half of the final frame for a 63-41 Lewiston advantage.
With both teams starters on the bench, Brunswick found its flow. JD Souza scored and Caleb Cost’s hoop and harm got the Dragons to 63-49. One minute later, Souza drained a 3-pointer and Alan Molnar went hard to the basket and was fouled to make for a 63-55 game. With Farrar’s starters ready to reenter, the Blue Devils scrambled for a rebound, keeping the Lewiston seniors on the sideline.
“We showed a bit more toughness in the fourth quarter,” Hanson said. “We were disappointed with our defensive effort, but Lewiston shot well.”
Alex Bandouveres led Brunswick with 15 points, while Payne finished with nine points and three assists. Josh Dorr added seven points, and Thomas Hanson dished out four assists. The Dragons were 18-of-50 from the field (36 percent) and 14-of-21 from the free-throw line.
Lewiston finished 6-of-15 at the charity stripe and held a 32-18 rebounding edge, led by Harris with eight and Irish with seven.
The Blue Devils host Brewer on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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