Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

January 26

Boys' basketball: Red Eddies repel Brunswick's upset bid

Edward Little erases a 13-point deficit and pulls away late for a 58-54 win.

By EARL SWINSON Special to the Press Herald

BRUNSWICK - Quin Leary scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Edward Little overcame a double-digit deficit with a 21-5 run to beat Brunswick 58-54 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys' basketball game Friday night.

The Dragons led 25-12 midway through the second quarter when Red Eddies Coach Mike Adams called a timeout.

"We were hurrying up too much on offense," said Adams. "It was one pass and shoot, and we weren't getting any reversals or offensive rebounds."

Brunswick (8-6) turned the ball over three straight times after the timeout and the Eddies (13-1) took advantage, reeling off 10 straight points.

"We didn't want to lose our momentum," said Brunswick Coach Todd Hanson, "but we wanted to shorten the game a little, and we didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball."

Leary followed the first turnover with a smart bounce pass to Kaleb Main for a layup. Leary then hit a jumper, and Nate Alexander (13 points) made two from the line after a Leary steal.

"Coach told us to work on our outside rotation on defense and move the ball more on offense," said Leary.

A pair of Main free throws and an Alexander bucket off an offensive rebound and assist by Main made it 25-22 at halftime.

Bradford Smith opened the third quarter with a jumper for Brunswick, but Sean Ford of the Eddies scored his first points on back-to-back putbacks to make it a one-point game.

Moments later, Ford made a steal and went in for a layup that tied the game at 28-28.

"I was in foul trouble and was benched early," said Ford, who scored all 11 of his points in the third quarter. "But Quin did a good job taking out (Smith), and I was able to step it up."

Konnor Scarponi (12 points) drove the lane to put the Dragons back on top, but Leary knocked down a 3-pointer and Ford scored from underneath to give Edward Little a 33-30 lead.

It was a back-and-forth affair after that, as Blake Gordon (15 points, eight rebounds) scored off a steal and Scarponi followed with a 3-pointer to put Brunswick back on top.

"I don't know anyone who has improved as much as Blake Gordon," said Adams. "We tried everything but couldn't stop him.

"But we'll take (the win). We're not great athletes; we have to play smart and get good looks."

Lew Jensen, scoreless to that point, swished a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth as Edward Little surged ahead, 47-44. Gordon answered with a 3, but Alexander's three-point play helped the Eddies pull away.

"We put ourselves in position to win, but we couldn't get the big stop or big rebound when we needed it," said Hanson. "But they're 13-1 for a reason."

 

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