LEWISTON – Lewiston High School walked away from its first boys’ basketball encounter with Brunswick thinking it could knock off Eastern Maine’s top-ranked team the second time around.
Think again. The Blue Devils would have to play much better, and the Dragons alarmingly worse, to render a result any different than Brunswick’s 64-40 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rout Tuesday night.
Brunswick (16-1) never trailed, scored 13 straight points on five successive shots in the first quarter, led by 25 at the half and substituted liberally thereafter.
“Our defense was better, and couple that with a few more made shots,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson. “We got some good looks (at the basket). When our shots are going in, we’re a tough matchup, defensively.”
The Dragons survived a scare from the Blue Devils at home on Jan. 24, trailing by three points going into the fourth quarter before squirming away for a 70-60 victory.
“They hit eight 3-pointers (that night),” Hanson said, “and I think most of them were in the first half. We wanted to take away (Jared) Turcotte and (Jon) Fournier. They’re very good shooters.”
Lewiston connected only twice from beyond the arc in the rematch. The first strike, by Turcotte, broke up a 20-2 Brunswick run early in the second quarter. Keenan White canned the second in late mop-up duty.
Seniors Fournier and Joe Stachowiak led the Blue Devils (9-8) with nine points apiece in their final regular-season home game. Another upperclassman, Jon Mancine, delivered five steals. But Lewiston shot only 15-for-61 from the field.
Brunswick, meanwhile, made nine of its first 11 tries on the road to a 22-6 lead. It ballooned to 42-17 at the break.
“I don’t think Brunswick’s defense was that much better (than the previous meeting). We missed a lot of easy shots. On another day, maybe those go in,” said Lewiston coach Pat Blais. “And obviously there’s a reason Brunswick is No. 1 in the conference.”
Doug Eichinger provided the fourth-quarter push against Lewiston last time around. He enjoyed a relaxing seat on the bench for Tuesday’s final period after leading the Dragons with 16 points.
Sophomore Dan Scully added 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds for Brunswick, which will host Morse on Thursday and face Gardiner in the KVAC championship game Saturday in Auburn. Then it’s on to the regional quarterfinals at Augusta Civic Center on Feb. 18.
Jordan Kelly dropped in nine points, all on 3-pointers. The Dragons drained six shots from long range.
“There are a lot of emotions on Senior Night,” said Blais. “Maybe that had something to do with it.”
Lewiston finishes the KVAC campaign at Edward Little. After that, the Blue Devils are probably ticketed for a road preliminary game in the Eastern Class A tournament next week.
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