For a time in Friday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contest against Cony, the Dragons got away from those skills, and not surprisingly trailed 30-24 at the half.
There is one more thing Brunswick does well … adjust at halftime.
Coach Todd Hanson had his Dragons back to performing those strengths, and the results were there in the second half en route to a 62-51 come-from-behind victory, giving Brunswick an 8-4 record with a key clash today at Lawrence, with tip-off slated for 4 p.m.
Brunswick rode the play of several in this victory. Blake Gordon scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, center Brad Smith not only scored 14 points, but pulled down seven tough rebounds, blocked four shots and picked up four steals, and Konnor Scarponi seemed to be all over the gym, adding 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Those not all over the scoring sheet, namely Alex Bandouveres and Derek Devereaux, contributed nicely. Bandouveres had six tough inside points and stood tall in the paint, while Devereaux pulled down five boards and dished out three assists. Pearson Cost nailed a key 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the third quarter to give the Dragons a 46-43 lead.
“We challenged the kids at the half to get the ball into the post and get back to the inside-outside stuff,” said Hanson, who watched his team shoot 65 percent from the floor in the second half (17 of 26) and 54 percent (28 of 51) for the game. “We made good decisions with the ball, didn’t get caught in the air and turn the ball over, got the feet down and got it done.”
Cony comes back
Brunswick turned a 5-4 first-quarter deficit into a 15-7 lead with three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Scarponi, Smith and Bandouveres combined for 13 points.
But, the Dragons began taking quick shots, mostly from 3-point range, and Cony took advantage behind Zach Lachance, who scored eight first-quarter points as the Rams closed the opening frame with a 7-0 run, trailing 15-14.
Cony (4-8) kept coming in the second quarter, going on an 8-2 spurt for a 22-16 lead. Lachance, who had 12 points in the first half, nailed two 3-pointers, and the Rams shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field, taking a 30-24 halftime lead.
“We got lazy and weren’t moving the ball,” said Gordon. “We needed to come out strong and pick up the energy. It was a chain reaction when we got rolling. Derek (Devereaux) broke down his man and kicked the ball out, and Brad took over inside. Plus, our defense shut them down a lot better.”
“Our halftime adjustment as a coaching staff was that we looked at the shot chart and realized we were three-happy and quick-possession happy,” said Hanson. “Deep down defensively, we were flat in the first half, and they really responded to the challenge in the defensive end in the second.”
Scarponi took on the challenge of fronting Lachance, who made his first shot of the half for a 38-33 Rams lead, but that was it as the Cony leader finished with 15 points.
“Konnor (Scarponi) played a great all-around game, with a stellar defensive job,” said Hanson.
Brunswick began its comeback, outscoring Cony 13-5 the rest of the way in the third quarter for a 46-43 lead. Gordon had nine points, while Smith picked up six, mostly on hard drives to the basket after receiving feeds from Devereaux and Scarponi.
“We were not getting enough inside when they were playing zone, but once we got it inside, we began getting easy lay-ups,” said Smith. “If we’re down, we come out in the second half, get in a rhythm, and things come easy for us. We have great guards who get steals and get the ball inside. I try to do my best to protect the basket, and I just had a few blocks tonight.”
Cony tied the game on a Ben Leet trey to open the fourth quarter, and Ben Lucas’ three-point play brought the Rams to within 50-49 with 5:08 remaining.
However, Brunswick ran away from there.
Scarponi and Gordon both drove to the basket for two points for a 54- 49 edge, and a three-point play by Smith gave the Dragons a 57-50 lead with 2:45 left, and the Dragons’ defense held the Rams to a two-for-13 shooting performance in the fourth quarter.
Lucas and Alex Neill scored 10 points each for Cony, with Kevin Kingsbury coming off the bench to chip in seven. The Rams were 19 of 46 (41 percent) from the floor and made nine of 16 at the foul line.
Brunswick finished four of eight at the charity stripe.
Brunswick 62, Cony 51
At Brunswick
Cony — 14 16 13 8 — 51
Brunswick — 15 9 22 16 — 62
Cony — Zach Lachance 6-0-15, Chandler Shostak
0-0-0, Alex Niell 4-2-10, Ben Leet 1-1-4, Ben
Lucas 3-4-10, Kevin Kingsbury 3-1-7, Mitchell
Bonenfant 0-0-0, Kyle Elvin 0-0-0, Liam Stokes 2-
1-5, Dayshawn Roberts 0-0-0, Keith Cloutier 0-0-
0. Totals — 19-9-51.
Brunswick — Blake Gordon 9-1-20, Derek Devereaux 1-0-2, Alex Bandouveres 4-0-8, Konnor
Scarponi 6-1-13, Brad Smith 6-2-14, Pearson
Cost 1-0-3, Nolan Robbins 0-0-0, Brett Lancaster
1-0-2. Totals — 28-4-62.
3-point field goals — (C) Lachance 3, Leet; (B)
Gordon, Cost.
Records — Brunswick 8-4, Cony 4-8.
Next for the Dragons — Today at Lawrence, 4
p.m.
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