By Dave St. Hilaire,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – The Lewiston Blue Devils’ defensive pressure typically plays havoc on their opponents. On Friday night, it was the Blue Devils that came unraveled from that pressure.

The Brewer Witches broke open a 39-39 game late in the third quarter with a 12-0 run and continually beat the press in the fourth quarter to run away with a 78-60 KVAC boys’ basketball win over the previously undefeated Blue Devils.

The Witches (2-4) scored 29 of their 32 fourth-quarter points by either a layup or a free throw. Three of those baskets came directly off an inbounds play on the offensive end of the court. Two others came on court-length passes in which a Brewer player broke free down the floor.

“Because they were behind, they were trying to play catch up,” said Brewer coach Mark Reed. “They were over-playing (on the press) so hard it gave us the chances.”

“We knew they were a team that was going to pressure us and we worked on that in practice,” added senior guard Chris Wilson who scored a game-high 29 points, including 22 after the break. “When we got to the game we were all set.”

Late in the third quarter, Wilson posted up Abdinassir Abdi to put Brewer up 41-39. Center Ryan Babin (20 points) followed with a conventional three-point play in which Lewiston forward Jared Turcotte picked up his fourth foul. Babin then buried an eight-footer just before the buzzer and the Witches led 46-39.

The fourth quarter opened with Wilson slipping loose for an easy lay in off an inbounds play from the side. He was fouled on the play and subsequently hit his free throw. Moments later, Ben Valley raced behind the Blue Devils (6-1) for an easy bucket of his own as the Witches extended their lead to 51-39.

The remainder of the game featured more easy layups and free throws by Brewer. Wilson and backcourt mate Brad Libby (15 points) were the main benefactors. Eleven of Libby’s points came in the final eight minutes of action.

“There were some fundamental breakdowns in our pressure that led to easy lay ups,” said Lewiston coach Pat Blais. “We got ahead of ourselves.”

The first half was evenly played as the Blue Devils found themselves in early foul trouble. Turcotte and Jon Fournier, their top two scorers heading into the game, were both saddled with three fouls midway through the second quarter. Turcotte ended up with a team-high 13 points before fouling out. Fournier struggled with his shooting though the first three quarters and finished with 11 points.

Lewiston’s best player Friday was center Joe Stachowiak, who scored 11 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.