BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL’S Mitch Black (10, right photo) has this shot blocked by Lewiston’s Shawn Ricker (15) during a KVAC boys contest at Lewiston High School on Friday. In the top photo, Dragons guard Konnor Scarponi (24) is surrounded by Blue Devils Donne Agossou (23), Josh Thomas (right) and Ricker. Brunswick fell to 4-3 with a 59-51 loss.

BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL’S Mitch Black (10, right photo) has this shot blocked by Lewiston’s Shawn Ricker (15) during a KVAC boys contest at Lewiston High School on Friday. In the top photo, Dragons guard Konnor Scarponi (24) is surrounded by Blue Devils Donne Agossou (23), Josh Thomas (right) and Ricker. Brunswick fell to 4-3 with a 59-51 loss.

LEWISTON — As the Brunswick High School boys basketball team walked slowly off the court Friday after a 59-51 Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference loss to well-rested Lewiston, Todd Hanson’s Dragons looked tired and worn down.

 

 

Can anyone really blame them?

The loss to the Blue Devils, who played for the first time in a week, was Brunswick’s fourth game, all on the road, in four long days. The Dragons traveled to Bangor Tuesday, arriving home at 11:30 p. m., went to the Augusta Civic Center twice on Wednesday for the Capital City Classic, and were back on the bus to Lewiston to end the week.

“We’re very tired, but that is not an excuse,” said Brunswick (4-3) forward Garrett Erb, who had seven points, eight rebounds and six steals against Lewiston. “They were making shots and we weren’t in the first three quarters. We got some good looks, but just didn’t finish.

“ We had the will to win, something we always have. We play with a sense of urgency in the fourth quarter. We need to do that in the first quarter.”

“Take nothing away from Lewiston because that is a good team over there,” said Hanson, whose squad hosts Erskine Academy on Tuesday. “We threw the ball all over the gym ( 20 Dragon turnovers). Many of our turnovers were unforced, something you just can’t do against a good team.”

Lewiston, which improved to 5-1, was looking for a win against an elite team.

“We needed to show that we could play with, and get a win, against an elite team, and Brunswick is an elite team,” said Lewiston coach Tim Farrar, who rotated 10 players into the game. “We’re a pretty balanced team, with a different leading scorer every game. We typically play 11 guys.”

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On this night, it was the outside- inside presence of guard Shawn Ricker ( 14 points) and center Steven Patrie ( 13 points) that led Lewiston, which held a 15-11 lead after a quarter, 32- 24 advantage at the half and 48- 34 edge through 24 minutes before the Dragons rallied in the fourth.

Brunswick used a 6-0 run to begin the final frame to draw within eight points, 48- 40. Patrie answered with four tough inside points to extend the Lewiston advantage back to 13, but the Dragons refused to go away, getting as close as 53-46 with 2:31 remaining.

“We never quit and played well in the fourth quarter, but the key was we cut down on the turnovers, which gave us a chance,” said Hanson.

Devils take the lead

Brunswick used a 5-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a 7-4 lead, but Lewiston responded with an 11- 2 run, pulling ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Patrie.

Lewiston 59, Brunswick 51
At Lewiston High School

Brunswick — 11  13  10  17 — 51

Lewiston — 15  17  16  11 — 59

Brunswick — Ryan Black 2-2-6, Konnor Scarponi 4-0-8, Garrett Erb 3-0-7, Mitch Black 3-6-14, Trent Anderson 2-2-6, Alex Viola 1-1-3, Brad Smith 2-1-5, Blake Gordon 0-0-0, Jibreel Garrett 1-0-2, Elliot Boyd 0-0-0. Totals — 18-12-51.

Lewiston — Josh Thomas 1-2-5, Donne Agossou 4-1-9, Steven Patrie 6-0-13, Corbin Hyde 1-2-4, Shawn Ricker 6-0-14, Jake Dumas 2-1-5, Cody Mousseau 2-0-4, Abdi Hussein 1-0-2, Luke Cote 1-1-3, Matt Chouinard 0-0-0. Totals — 24-7-59.

3-pointers — (B) Erb, M. Black 2; (L) Thomas, Patrie, Ricker 2.

Records — Brunswick 4-3, Lewiston 5-1.

Next for the Dragons — Tuesday at home against Erskine Academy, 7 p.m.

The second quarter was all Ricker, who popped for eight of his points, including a pair of treys as Lewiston extended its lead to 10, 30-20.

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Mitch Black and Erb each had five points for the Dragons in the first half, with Konnor Scarponi and Trent Anderson adding four points apiece. On the Lewiston side, Donne Agossou added six points and Patrie five.

The Lewiston bench propelled the Blue Devils in the third quarter. Cody Mousseau had four big points, while the defense of Abdi Hussein, Luke Cote and Jake Dumas forced the tiring Dragons into eight turnovers. Ricker’s final basket gave Lewiston its biggest lead, 48- 32, with 30 seconds left in the frame.

Agossou chipped in nine points for the Blue Devils, who shot 38 percent (24 of 62) from the floor and seven of 18 from the foul line. Lewiston held a 35-33 advantage on the boards, led by seven each from Patrie and Josh Thomas.

Brunswick received 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals from Mitch Black (“ Mitch is as good a player as we will face this season,” said Farrar), eight from Scarponi, seven from Erb, and six each from Ryan Black and Anderson.

The Dragons were 18 of 57 (31 percent) from the field and finished 12 of 18 (all in the second half) from the line. Alex Viola pulled down five caroms.

sports@timesrecord.com


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