Having been out of the lineup in the Blue Devils’ most recent game, the 6-foot-4 senior had plenty of energy to exert. 

Harris poured in a game-high 22 points — 15 coming after halftime — and the Blue Devils pushed their winning streak to three with a 57-49 victory over Brunswick on Tuesday. 

“He did a lot of things,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “He took charges, blocked shots, he rebounded, scored a couple points for us. He was a leader tonight. That’s what we want from him. He’s one of our leaders and we need that same effort every night.” 

Harris was suspended for Friday’s game against Skowhegan after being ejected from last Wednesday’s contest against Cony. He received two technical fouls in that game. 

Harris made up for it in a variety of ways Tuesday. After a slow start by both teams in the first half, in which they combined for 15 total field goals, the Blue Devils got off to a hot start in the second half. Harris made back-to-back buckets and a basket by Ace Curry fueled a 6-0 to give Lewiston a 28-21 lead. 

The Dragons (1-3) grabbed their first lead of the second half with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter following an old-fashioned three-point play by Alex Bandouveres. A basket by Harris on Lewiston’s next trip down the court gave the Blue Devils their last lead at 32-31. 

“I was happy because I was hitting my shots, which I haven’t been doing the past couple of games,” Harris said. “I didn’t play last game, so I wasn’t sure how I’d be shooting. Everybody was hitting their shots. When we’re hitting our shots, we’re dangerous.” 

Harris’ basket triggered a 10-0 run — the longest run by either team — stretching from the end of the third quarter to the start of the fourth. Harris and Tykeem Gaines had four points each during that stretch. 

Consecutive 3-pointers by Bandouveres and Taran Payne trimmed Lewiston’s lead down to 3 with 5:34 remaining, but a bucket by Harris and a 3 by Ryan Bell in between a Dragons free throw pushed the advantage up to 7. 

His biggest play may have come on the defensive end. With 3:48 remaining, Harris drew Brunswick senior guard Pearson Cost’s fifth foul, taking a charge underneath the basket. This followed Harris’ final basket of the contest. 

“I forgot what I did on offense,” Harris said. “I did something big on offense. I ran back. I saw the guy coming from a mile away. I just ran to the spot. It was an easy charge.” 

The loss of Cost, who finished with 8 points, limited Brunswick’s options on the perimeter when trying to mount a comeback. 

“He’s a leader,” Brunswick coach Todd Hanson said. “He’s been on the varsity for three years. He usually draws a tough assignment on defense. When we can’t put him on the floor it puts us at a disadvantage on the defensive end and we felt it tonight.” 

The Blue Devils salted the game away at the free-throw line. The Blue Devils scored their final nine points from the charity stripe. Trever Irish was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth and Lewiston finished 21-for-30. Irish finished with 10 points.

The uptempo offense from both teams in the second half was a stark contrast from the first 16 minutes. The Dragons attempted to push the pace, but had trouble trying to figure out Lewiston’s defense, which opened in man-to-man before switching to 2-3. 

“I don’t think you can let them get comfortable,” Farrar said. “With our personnel I think we can go big and long and take up a lot of space in the zone and we can switch it up and be quick and smaller with some of our quicker guys.” 

The Blue Devils led 22-18 at halftime. 

Payne led the Dragons with 14 points. Bandouveres had 9. 

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