PORTLAND

The last thing Brunswick High School boys basketball coach Todd Hanson wanted his Dragons to do in Saturday’s Class A South Regional final was to chase speedy Falmouth guards Colin and Thomas Coyne all over the Cross Insurance Arena court.

Problem was, the Yachtsmen didn’t want to get into a track meet with Brunswick either, instead slowing the game down and taking the Dragons out of there full-court game.

The end result was a 58-44 Falmouth victory, ending a magical run for Brunswick. The Dragons finished the season with a 15-6 mark, while the Yachtsmen (17-4) move on to this upcoming Saturday’s State Class A championship against North winner Oceanside at 3 p.m., back at Cross Insurance Arena.

“Falmouth is a top team for a reason, a really hard team to play when they have the lead,” said Hanson. “We were behind from the get-go, and we never had a chance to slow them down. We scouted them and played them once, and we just didn’t want to chase the Coyne brothers. We made a concerted effort to pick them up at the 3-point line, which I thought gave us the best chance to win. But, they made the shots that they needed to make.”

Slow start

Just like in the semifinal against Greely, Brunswick started slow, trailing 8-0 as Thomas Coyne and Sean Walsh hit back-to-back 3- pointers, forcing a Brunswick timeout.

“We were up early and they called a timeout. (Falmouth) Coach (David Halligan) told us to not slow down and answer any run that they had. We did a good job of that tonight,” said Thomas Coyne, who passed to Sam Skop for a bucket to close the first quarter with the Yachtsmen on top, 10-2.

Brunswick was 1-for-6 from the floor in the opening quarter and committed three turnovers. Falmouth frustrated the Brunswick faithful by slowing the game down, often holding the ball for upwards of one minute a possession while looking for the perfect shot.

“We saw them play Greely, and Brunswick was able to score whenever they wanted to,” said Thomas Coyne. “We knew that we had to slow them down, and we were able to control the tempo. Our role players did a good job stepping up, and we ran the offense that we wanted to run tonight.”

“We like to play up and down, and it was slow game because the Coyne brothers do a good job controlling the tempo,” said Brunswick senior guard Thomas Hanson. “Obviously, you can’t steal it from them because they make the right choices with the ball.”

Brunswick second

The Dragons found their flow in the second quarter. Caleb Cost found his range, scoring 11 points, while Thomas Hanson hit a deep 3- pointer, and Josh Dorr went hard to the basket, scoring while being fouled then swishing the free throw for a three-point play.

However, Falmouth kept up with Brunswick as six players scored in the frame, with the teams heading to the locker room with the Yachtsmen holding a 26-19 lead.

Like they did against Greely, the Dragons came out strong in the third quarter. Down 29-21, Corban Teel scored four points in the paint, and Cost hit a short jumper as the Falmouth lead shrank to 29-27 with four minutes left in the third.

After a Yachtsmen timeout, Thomas Coyne scored, and Colin Coyne stole an inbounds pass and finished for a quick four points and a 33-27 Falmouth advantage.

“Those points were big and it seemed to get us going in the right direction again,” said Thomas Coyne.

Thomas Hanson brought Brunswick back to within four, 33-29, but Thomas Coyne swished a trey and made two at the line to close the third quarter with the Yachtsmen leading, 38-29. Thomas Hanson, who had 11 points, hit another 3-pointer to get his team to 40-32, but Falmouth answered again and closed out the win behind 21 points from Thomas Coyne and 14 from Colin Coyne.

For Todd Hanson’s squad, five seniors took to the court for the final time, including his son Thomas, who also led Brunswick with six rebounds.

“He has been a Dragon all his life, and I wish we could have gone a couple steps further together,” said Todd Hanson, who has watched Thomas quarterback the Brunswick football team to back-to-back State Class B football finals along with this year’s basketball run. “Every coach I have talked to that have coached their own sons told me to enjoy it. I have enjoyed all 18 years of being with him.”

“It was a dream come true to play in a regional final,” said Thomas Hanson.

Senior JD Souza had five points in his final game, while Cost, who is a junior, led the Dragons with 17 points and picked up five rebounds and two steals.

“Any time you get to a regional final your season has been fantastic,” added Todd Hanson. “I don’t think many people penciled us in for here on February 20. I am really proud of these guys. Yes, we are disappointed, but I think we’ll look back with great pride that they got to a championship game.”

Skop had nine points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots for Falmouth, while Walsh chipped in seven points. Colin Coyne dished out four assists and picked up two steals.

Falmouth made 51.4-percent of its shots (19-of-37), while Brunswick shot 47.4- percent (18-of-38).

No. 2 Falmouth 58,
No. 4 Brunswick 44

Class A South Regional Boys Final
Saturday, at Cross Insurance Arena
Brunswick — 2 17 10 15 — 44
Falmouth — 10 16 12 20 — 58
Brunswick — Jesse Devereaux 0-0-
0, Josh Dorr 3-1-7, Caleb Cost 7-2-
17, Thomas Hanson 4-1-11, Corban
Teel 2-0-4, Christian Glover 0-0-0, JD
Souza 2-0-5, Owen Rudalevige 0-0-0.
Totals — 18-4-44.
Falmouth — Colin Coyne 5-3-14,
Thomas Coyne 7-5-21, Sean Walsh
2-1-7, Sam Skop 4-1-9, Matthew
Wulbrecht 1-0-2, Sean Bryant 0-0-0,
Jack Bryant 0-5-5. Totals — 19-15-
58.
3-point field goals — (B) Thomas
Hanson 2, Caleb Cost, JD Souza; (F)
Thomas Coyne 2, Sean Walsh 2,
Colin Coyne.
Records — Falmouth 17-4,
Brunswick 15-6.
Note — Brunswick’s season is completed.