The Blue Devils built a double-digit advantage in Tuesday’s Unified basketball regional quarterfinal, but watched Winthrop trim that lead. The Ramblers actually tied it in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
“We were all getting a little nervous because we didn’t want to lose,” Lewiston’s Theresa Morin said. “We were getting mad, too.”
The Blue Devils turned that anxiety into action, answering the Ramblers’ rally with eight straight points and a 10-2 run on their way to a 30-22 win over Winthrop.
“We played well,” Lewiston coach Bill County said. “I didn’t think we played our best game. I think we missed some easy shots. We put ourselves in a situation where we had to play well in the fourth quarter.”
Sixth-ranked Lewiston (8-2) advances to the regional semifinal Thursday at second-seeded Winslow (8-1). Lewiston reached the semifinal last year, but lost to Hampden, 37-36, in double overtime.
Third-seeded Winthrop (6-2) finished the season with a solid effort, but just didn’t have the depth to match Lewiston.
“I’m extremely impressed with my entire team,” Winthrop coach Joan Thompson said. “They’re a tough team. We haven’t played a team like them all season. We played a lot of games early in the season, and then we had like three weeks off and now we’re here in the playoffs. Do I think it would have made a difference? Maybe a little bit, but Lewiston is a very tough team, and my kids aren’t used to it.”
Morin and Travis Maier each had eight points for Lewiston. Connor Jewett and Josh County each added four. The Blue Devils also got baskets from Sierra Tuttle, Za’mond Smith and Caleb Beaupre.
Winthrop was led by Dillion Coston with eight, while Nick Childs added six. Lukas Thompson and Dakota Brooke each chipped in four.
After Winthrop tied the game on a pair of Childs baskets to open the fourth, Lewiston got baskets from four different athletes. Morin, Maier, Smith and Jewett each scored to open the lead again.
“It made it seem like we were going to slowly start losing but then we started to say, ‘No, we weren’t going to lose it.'” Morin said. “We started shooting more shots.”
Morin hit the first shot to give Lewiston back the lead. Maier scored on a rebound and Smith hit a jumper, set up by a pass from Jared Rubin. Jewett scored on a drive to make it 28-20. Winthrop got a basket from Coston, but Lewiston finished the game with a hoop from Tuttle.
“We were up by 10 at one point,” County said. “I told the kids that we had to have some patience. I think we got a little shot-happy there. We had to be patient. They’re excited. It’s a playoff game, and they’re pumped up. Sometimes that takes over.”
Lewiston got a great effort from its partners. Three of them — Austin Wing, Mohamed Khalid and Dek Hassan — had come directly from the State House, where the Blue Devils’ state championship soccer team had been honored Tuesday morning.
“I’m really proud of these six kids,” County said of his partners. “We try to rotate them as much as we can. I thought it was very competitive today with the partners. They had some kids that are pretty good. Our kids had to protect the ball. I thought defensively our partners played especially well.”
Wing and Rubin helped stake Lewiston to an early lead, setting up baskets by Caleb Beaupre, Maier and Morin, but the Blue Devils missed an abundance of shots. Winthrop managed to stay close, getting baskets from Brooke to end the first quarter down 6-4.
Lewiston opened the lead to 14-8 at the half. Winthrop had tied it on baskets by Thompson and Coston, but Lewiston got a run going. Wing and Rubin had a number of assists as Maier and Morin each scored twice.
In the third quarter, a pair of Josh County baskets and free throws by Jewett gave Lewiston a 20-10 lead. Khalid and Hassan were dominant on the boards, getting rebounds to set up shots by fellow Blue Devils. Winthrop closed the gap to end the quarter with baskets by Coston and Thompson.
Winthrop only had seven players by the time the season reached the tournament last year. The Ramblers lost in the first round. So getting a tourney win and playing well Tuesday were positive steps for a young Winthrop squad.
“It was a good game,” Thompson said. “It was a great way to end the season. My core team, they were here last year and they came back this year. They’re only in 10th grade. We’ve got two more fabulous years ahead of us with these kids that have been working together for two years. I think our future is really bright.”
kmills@sunjournal.com
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