TOPSHAM

After Caleb Cost started the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s boys high school basketball contest between “Battle of the Bridge” rivals Brunswick and Mt. Ararat with a hoop-and-harm play, the game looked out of reach.

The Dragons’ lead was 13, Eagles star Shyheim Ulrickson was in foul trouble, and the visiting Brunswick crowd was fired up.

But Mt. Ararat didn’t go away. Not in this game.

Eric Segars hit a trey that started a 12-2 Eagles run, cutting the lead to three. Then it was Segars from range again, stepping back and hitting another massive trey that erupted the Mt. Ararat crowd and tied the game for the first time since the second quarter. The improbable comeback was complete.

But, it didn’t last long.

A quick Josh Dorr bucket followed by a JD Souza hoop-and-harm put the Dragons back up by five, which was just enough. Brunswick went on to narrowly win the wild Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference game, 50-48.

“I had a feeling it was going to come down to the wire,” Brunswick coach Todd Hanson said. “We talked at halftime about Mt. Ararat making a run at us, and it just so happened to be right at the end of the game when they tied it. But I felt good with our guys out there. We’ve really been preaching composure, and I thought they really did a good job at the end.”

Sloppy turnovers and a few missed baskets led to Mt. Ararat (11-5) charging down the floor and getting to the free-throw line. Four straight trips to the charity stripe and six made free throws pulled the Eagles within three leading up to Segar’s big shot. A pass in traffic down low quickly found its way back outside to the Mt. Ararat guard in the corner, and he made the score 44-44. The momentum had switched drastically, but Brunswick (12-5) was ready.

“We knew they would make a run at us.” Brunswick captain Thomas Hanson said. “We weren’t really thinking they’d come back and tie it up, but they did, and we were ready for it.”

“We had a timeout there that kind of calmed us down,” Dorr said. “But also practice. We have situationals which help us get prepared for situations like this.”

The Dragon bench exploded after Souza’s lay-up rolled into the basket after the whistle for a foul. He swished the free throw and the control was back with the black and orange. Hanson was then sent to the line twice and made 2-of-4 to keep the lead intact. A Zach Garvey bucket before the buzzer put the Eagles down two, but there was a mere tenth of a second left on the clock.

“We just had to keep fighting,” Segars said. “We had to work hard and we knew that no deficit was too big to overcome. That had to be our mindset.”

“I looked at the clock, we were up 10 with six minutes to go, and I was hoping that clock would fast forward,” Todd Hanson said. “They made shots when they had to and they got some big stops down at the end. They’re a really well-coached team with good players.”

Ulrickson’s 16

Mt. Ararat was paced by Ulrickson, who tallied 16 points on the night, but he was in foul trouble throughout.

After watching from the bench as the Brunswick lead stretched to seven before the halftime break, Ulrickson fouled out of the game after a charge at the 1:37 mark in the fourth quarter. As the Eagles came down the floor needing three points to tie the game again in the final seconds, all he was able to do was watch.

“He’s one of the top players in Maine,” Todd Hanson said of Ulrickson. “He’s a tough matchup for anybody. We don’t look to stop him, we try and contain him and it’s a five man job. We had some really good help on him tonight.”

“It’s nice to have a talent like him in those last few minutes because you can count on some points, but we also have systems in place that allow us to get those points elsewhere,” Mt. Ararat coach Steve Cox said of Ulrickson fouling out. “Just didn’t happen tonight.”

Brunswick controlled the opening three quarters of the game behind Hanson’s 17-point effort, playing stingy defense and maintaining Mt. Ararat from the perimeter. The Eagles managed just 14 field goals and shot 32 percent from the floor. With each quarter break, the Dragons’ lead increased.

“I thought it was a great effort by our guys,” Todd Hanson said. “Defense is what carries us, and how far we go this season is going to really depend on our effort on the defensive end.”

“I think our shots weren’t falling a little bit because of what Brunswick was doing,” Cox said. “But I don’t think we managed the quality shots we were looking to manage. I’d say it was a little bit of both of us.”

Segars, who finished with eight points, including two treys, said the Brunswick defense made it tough for his side to find rhythm, especially in the middle of the game

“They were guarding Shy (Ulrickson) really well and we weren’t working as a team very well. We had no momentum, and it was really hard to gain that,” Segars said.

On the other side, Brunswick hit 41 percent of its shots on 20 field goals. Dorr finished with 10 points, with Corban Teel chipping in with eight and grabbing five rebounds. Cost had eight boards and tallied five points.

Thomas Hanson noted that it was nice to sweep the season series with Mt. Ararat after the opposite happened last year, but his coach knows it’s not the end.

“It’s always nice to get a win, but we know this one wasn’t the important one,” Todd Hanson said. “We know that we’re going to have to beat them again if we advance in the tournament.”

Alex LaFountain scored 14 points and pulled in seven rebounds for the Eagles, who will travel to Medomak Valley for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday.

Brunswick will close its regular season with a home game against Lewiston at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Brunswick 50,
Mt. Ararat 48

Saturday, at Mt. Ararat High School
Brunswick — 13 14 12 11 — 50
Mt. Ararat — 10 10 9 19 — 48
Brunswick — Jesse Devereaux 1-0-
2, Josh Dorr 5-0-10, Caleb Cost 1-3-
5, Thomas Hanson 6-3-17, Owen
Rudalevige 1-0-2, Christian Glover 0-
0-0, Corban Teel 3-2-8, JD Souza 2-
0-4, Colby Bucknam 1-0-2, Alan Molnar 0-0-0. Totals — 20-8-50.
Mt. Ararat — Cam Cox 1-3-5, Garrett
Bolduc 0-0-0, Alex LaFountain 5-4-
14, Shyheim Ulrickson 4-7-16, Harper Moutal 0-0-0, Cole Guerin 0-1-1,
Eric Segars 3-0-8, Zach Garvey 1-2-4,
Jacob Steinman 0-0-0, Ryan Mello 0-
0-0. Totals — 14-17-48.
3-point field goals — (B) Thomas
Hanson 2; (MtA) Shyheim Ulrickson,
Eric Segars 2.
Records — Brunswick 12-5, Mt.
Ararat 11-5
Next up for the Dragons — Tuesday
at home against Lewiston, 7 p.m.
Next up for the Eagles — Tuesday at
Medomak Valley, 7 p.m.

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