BRUNSWICK — It’s been a perfect season thus far for the Brunswick High School Unified basketball team, finishing the regular season at 7-0 and earning the top spot in the Western Heal Point Standings.
However, with the Dragons only winning by an average of three points all season long, Tuesday’s quarterfinal game against No. 8 Leavitt (1-6) meant it was time to bare down and focus as a new “one-game season” had arrived.
Brunswick stepped up, capturing the 36-23 victory to advance to the semifinals against the winner of No. 4 Bonny Eagle and No. 5 Oxford Hills.
“It felt fantastic,” Dragons head coach Chris Baribeau said. “To have Tim Humphrey lead us in scoring in the first half, you can’t write it up any better.”
The two teams concluded their regular seasons against each other, with the Dragons taking home a 30-27 nail-biter this past Thursday and the same close play started right out of the gate in the first quarter. The Dragons jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of buckets from Humphrey, but Leavitt answered with two of its own, as Mark Fournier and Sam Gagnon helped tie it up.
With two minutes left, Tad Hugo worked his way inside the paint and put his team ahead 6-4 and that’s the way the it remained at the first buzzer.
“Like my athletic director said, this is basketball the way we used to play it,” Hornets head coach Butch Gilbert said. “Not having to worry about winning. It’s all about the kids and the kids having a good time. My kids have grown every game. It’s a great thing for them, a great opportunity.”
At the start of the second frame, the Dragons attempted to push forward, jumping ahead 8-4, but the Hornets fought back, tying the game at eight and once more at 10 with Nathan Longley and Gagnon leading the way. Brunswick plugged away, going on a 10-2 run all thanks to the hands of sophomore Andrew DuRoss with over two minutes to play in the half to make it 20-12.
It became all Dragons the rest of the way, with Laurentz Locke and Humphrey combining for six points to push their team ahead 26-12. Though, Hornets’ Ashton Dozois made it difficult, pulling down 12 of his team’s 23 second-half rebounds, half of which were on the offensive side of the floor.
The hometown crowd appeared to strengthen as the game went on, especially at the four-minute marker in the third quarter when senior Justin Faulkner put the fans on their feet when he was able to drain his first shot after five attempts.
“The local fan support, these fans, it’s probably one of the biggest crowds we’ve had in the gym in a while,” Baribeau said.
The tone of the action was set after DuRoss came up with a massive block to start the fourth quarter, which led to the Dragons limiting the Hornets to just four points in the concluding frame. DuRoss walked away with 14 points, with Humphrey totaling eight, while Gagnon led all scorers with 15 points for the Hornets.
Though the first official season regulated by the Maine Principals’ Association has come to a close for Leavitt, Gilbert said he doesn’t want to see anything change about the program in the future.
“I don’t think it should be any different next season,” he said. “We still need some room to grow. They’ve (the MPA) talked about making different divisions, different levels, but for me I want these kids to be able to integrate with other kids who are doing the same thing. I think this season was perfect. I don’t think it should be changed.”
For the Dragons, it’s on to the semifinals and Baribeau said it’s all about taking one step at a time.
“We’ll get a quick walk-through practice in (today),” he said. “Then we’re going to lace them up and we’re going to have fun and see how the chips fall.”
Game time for Thursday’s semifinal matchup is set for 4 p.m. at Brunswick High School.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
