AUGUSTA —Bo Leary remembers sitting in the bleachers at the Augusta Civic Center two years ago and watching Edward Little lose the Eastern A championship game to Bangor.

Yusuf Iman and James Philbrook remember sitting helplessly on the bench as the clock wound down on the Red Eddies’ fourth loss of the season to Bangor.

Mike Adams remembers trying to console his inconsolable players in the locker room afterwards.

No matter where they were in the arena that night, Edward Little coaches, players and fans were wondering what their team could have accomplished if not for this giant red-and-white hurdle that stood in its way. They had enjoyed one of the great seasons in their school’s history and all they had to show for it at that moment was an empty feeling, and just a bit of envy.

Edward Little would like Brewer to experience those feelings late Friday night.

The second-seeded Red Eddies will face top-seeded Brewer in the Eastern A final (7 p.m.) with their sights set on defending their regional crown. They have already beaten the Witches three times this year — twice by a combined five points during the regular season, then by a far-more convincing 25 points in the KVAC championship 11 days ago.

Both teams come into the title game flying high off of comeback semifinal wins. Brewer (17-3) trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half before rallying to defeat No. 4 Hampden Academy, 59-50. Edward Little (18-2) trailed No. 3 Bangor by 10 points with less than five mintues to go, stormed back to send the game to overtime, then won it, 60-57, on an Iman 3-pointer that harken back to the one he hit to beat Brewer in overtime during the regular season.

Adams said he isn’t worried about his team recovering from the excitement of its wild victory Wednesday night in time to focus on Brewer.

“They’ve got to bring me down. I think I pulled a hamstring,” he said. “They should be excited. We still have a bad taste in our mouth from last year. We felt like something was taken from us.”

The Red Eddies are driven by last year’s 54-52 loss in the state championship game to Thornton Academy, Adams said. They want another shot at their first gold ball in 64 years, and they know Brewer stands in their way.

EL and Brewer present numerous matchup problems for each other. The Witches’ quickness and perimeter prowess are the Eddies’ primary concerns. Senior guard Ray Bessette, who scored 21 points against Hampden, and senior forward Dom Drake, who tied Iman for the KVAC lead in scoring this year (17.6 ppg), propelled the Witches to a conference-high 66 ppg average this season.

“Brewer is a nightmare because of the way they shoot the ball,” Adams said.

The Witches have their own nightmares guarding the Eddies, particularly big men Philbrook and Leary. The duo dominated the conference championship game with a combined 43 points and 26 rebounds. With the exception of 6-foot-6 senior center Nate Carson’s shot-blocking capability, the Witches have had no answer for EL’s inside game.

“They’ve been better down low and outrebounding us,” Bessette said. “Hopefully, we can get our bigs to get stronger. Nate’s been playing well, and we hope he keeps it up the next game.”