LEWISTON — Maybe it’s presumptuous to say that the Lewiston High School boys’ basketball team had Cony right where it wanted them Friday night.

But up four points, at home, in the season opener, with one of Cony’s starting five battling flu-like symptoms? That couldn’t have been scripted much better.

Ryan Minoty turned the potential feelgood story of the winter into a second-half horror show for the Blue Devils, though. Cony’s senior guard scored nine consecutive points during in a run of 19 in a row for the Rams, paving the way to a 67-44 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference rout.

“No one could stop me in the post,” Minoty said. “They were putting little guards on me, so we just kept feeding me the ball.”

Good idea. After being shut out in the second quarter, Minoty scored 13 of his game-high 25 in the third. He also tore down 14 rebounds for Cony.

And when Lewiston’s defensive switcheroo finally left Minoty without open lanes early in the fourth quarter, he deftly dished to Jake Lachance for three straight buckets and found Jeff Vigue for another.

In a span of less than nine minutes in start-stop time, Cony’s 35-5 run transformed a 30-26 deficit into a 61-35 cushion. After sputtering to 5-for-27 (18 percent) from the field prior to the half — and still escaping with a one-point lead — the Rams ratcheted it up to 18-for-27 (67 percent) following intermission.

“We talked about if we made the extra pass, cut down their offensive rebounds and took care of the ball, then good things would happen,” said Cony coach Tim Bonsant. “A younger me might have gone in there at halftime yelling and screaming.”

Lachance added 14 points for Cony. Walker Cooper fought through sickness and chipped in 12.

Cooper, a sophomore, is the only non-senior starter for the Rams.

“If we’re ever going to do something, this is the year,” Minoty said.

Lewiston, on the flip side, started two juniors and a sophomore. But the Devils’ aggressive pursuit of second and third chances and their full-court pressure caused trouble for the more seasoned visitors.

The Blue Devils persisted through 10 lead changes, landing the next-to-last with a surge of nine straight points early in the third quarter. Trey Ouellette’s 3-pointer cut Cony’s lead to two. Leading scorer and rebounder Corbin Hyde (10 points, 11 rebounds) next connected down low to tie it.

Peter Blais’ 10-foot jumper landed Lewiston the lead, and Blais’ steal and transition lay-up made it a four-point margin with 4:18 remaining in the period.

“The score was where we needed it to be,” said Lewiston coach Tim Farrar. “You can’t fault the effort. I’m proud of that.”

Lewiston didn’t score again until Ouellette (seven points) nailed a foul-line jumper inside the horn to end the quarter. By then, Cony was up 45-32.

Minoty erupted for his 13 in a sequence of 2 minutes, 42 seconds. Lachance had two buckets and Charlie Partridge added another during the march.

“We just had one mismatch with No. 23 (Minoty). We put a smaller guy on him,” Farrar said. “Then we took him out and went with a big. Either way, we couldn’t stop him.”

The Devils struggled mightily from the free-throw line, going 5-for-23. They also were under 30 percent from the field.

Blais finished with nine points for Lewiston, which will get a boost when senior standout Ronnie Turner makes his expected return next month from an ankle injury suffered during football season.

“I thought Lewiston played hard,” Bonsant said. “Their pressure was very good. Those kids were tough.”

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