CAPE ELIZABETH — During Greely’s undefeated run to the Class A state championship last year, Zack Brown was a starter as a sophomore but took a back seat to the team’s senior leaders.

He was a jack-of-all-trades – contributing wherever he was needed – but certainly didn’t stand out.

In a season-opening 66-50 victory Friday night over Cape Elizabeth, Brown looked ready for a leadership role.

The 6-foot-3 forward finished with 19 points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.

“Zack is a guy who does a little bit of everything,” Greely Coach Travis Seaver said. “He does all the little things (and) scores and plays great defense, too.

“He’s so important to us. He’s our quiet leader.”

Brown was instrumental in the second quarter when Greely stretched a 19-14 lead to a 14-point margin at intermission.

Greely went on an 11-0 run over the opening 4:43 of the second quarter. Brown recorded back-to-back hoops for a 25-14 bulge, then capped the run with a three-point play after coming up with a steal on the defensive end. That followed a fast-break dunk by Andrew Storey after his steal at half court.

“Coach (Seaver) basically told us that for us to win this year, we (have) to play great defense,” Brown said. “After the first quarter, it was close, so knew we had to step it up. We had to communicate more on defense, and that is why we had so much success (in the quarter).”

Logan Bagshaw paced Greely’s offense with 21 points, including five 3-pointers, and also had three steals. Storey chipped in with 10 points, three steals and three assists.

Greely senior guard Shane DeWolfe did not play because of an injury.

Finn Bowe (25 points, seven rebounds) rallied Cape Elizabeth with 15 second-half points, including a pair of 3s in an 8-0 run to open the second half and make the score 36-30.

Bagshaw then quieted the home crowd with a 3-pointer from the left corner. After a block by Jack Kane, Bagshaw canned another deep shot off a Brown’s pass for a 44-30 lead with 5:00 left in the third quarter. Brown capped the run with a layup on a back-door cut off a Mike Coppersmith pass.

Andrew Hartel was the only other Caper in double figures, finishing with 11 points.

“We rely on Bowe a lot offensively and they clearly were keying on him,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Jim Ray. “We just had long talk (after the game) that we have to get contributions and more balance in what we do on both ends on the floor.

“They lost a couple very good players in (Jordan) Bagshaw and (Matt) McDevitt, but their backcourt (Logan Bagshaw and Coppersmith) is still a pretty good backcourt. (Greely) handled themselves pretty well and they were missing one of the best players in DeWolfe.”

Brown was happy to get the first game out of the way. It being against a rival made it much more difficult for the defending champs, who will have a target on their backs all season.

“Basically, the first game is the hardest (of the season) – we didn’t know what to expect,” Brown said. “We come out at the beginning of the year and everyone is nervous. For many players, this is their first varsity game.”