BRUNSWICK

You won’t find the story of Tuesday’s High School Unified basketball game between Brunswick and Lisbon on the scoreboard. Rather, you’ll find it right around the Dragons’ free throw line.

Multiple times during the game, visiting Greyhound players grabbed a rebound and handed the ball right back to a shooting Brunswick player for another chance — two, three, four times or more, always resulting in the home crowd cheering on a made basket.

Lisbon went on to win the game, 52-36, but the score was hardly the focus.

“We emphasize fun,” Brunswick coach Chris Baribeau said. “I think that’s what ‘Project Unified’ is all about. Player development, seeing our kids get better. Make or miss, the fans are celebrating.”

“This is what it’s about,” Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac said. “It’s about the athletes building confidence in themselves and being part of a team. That’s what this is about.”

Wesley Lucas headlined the game for Lisbon (5-0), scoring a game-high 28 points on 14 baskets down low. Lucas was always ready for the ball down near the baseline, and when he didn’t pass it off to a teammate, he often times swished it into the hoop.

“I’m feeling great,” Lucas said. “It’s all about accuracy and the right timing, I’ll tell you that. It’s pretty fun.”

Lisbon junior Tyler Halls, a standout on the school’s varsity football and hockey teams, is a Unified Student Partner on the squad and has watched Lucas grow all season.

“It’s awesome,” Halls said of the experience. “I do it for them. He’s (Lucas) having fun out here and he’s gotten better all throughout the season. He started at getting four points a game, and tonight he dropped 28. It’s crazy.”

For Brunswick (0-5), it was junior Tim Humphrey stealing the show, scoring a team-high 14 points. Just before the end of the third quarter, Humphrey was under the hoop waiting to shoot. Play was halted, and after five missed shots that Lisbon help collect and give back to the Dragons, Humphrey banked a basket in to the delight of the home crowd.

Then, less than a minute into the final frame, Humphrey launched a 3- pointer up that flew into the hoop and erupted the crowd again as he ran down the court, celebrating with partner teammate Stephen Backman.

The game ended when, while the clock was stopped at 1.3 seconds, Humphrey grabbed his own rebound and hit another shot to close the scoring and bring the fans to their feet one more time.

Humphrey said he was feeling “good” out there and had “lots of fun” with his teammates.

Sharing the ball

Jake Patenaude tallied 10 points for Lisbon, but was also active in rebounding and helping his teammates score. Two of his six boards were offensive, where he turned and passed the ball back out to another Greyhound. Especially near the end of the game, Lisbon’s goal was to get everyone involved and have a chance with the ball.

“We have a rotation so all of the athletes get an equal amount of playing time and the partners are then added in,” Tlumac said.

An example of the plan came in the middle of the third quarter, when Pate-naude, while on a breakaway, slowed things down and passed the ball to Michael Farrington, who then hit his first basket of the game.

The Greyhounds were just

as generous with the ball while Brunswick was on offense, giving Justin Faulkner as many shots as he needed from the line. Three times, with the help of others, Faulkner gathered the ball with one hand and banked it in off the glass. The cheers from the Brunswick faithful were even louder when the ball came from a Lisbon player.

“Lisbon’s a really well coached team,” Baribeau said. “Very disciplined. At the end of the game, sportsmanship is what it comes down to. They shared the ball. When you see that in any team, it’s pretty cool. Lisbon did it a lot and it was great.”

Tad Hugo scored 10 points for the Dragons, while Faulkner finished with six. Freshman partner Sam Sharpe reeled in 11 rebounds.

Farrington finished with six points for Lisbon, and Dawson Martel tallied four. Ryley Austin’s lone bucket of the game came at the buzzer right before the end of the first quarter. The Greyhounds put together two strong runs (10-0 and 8-0) to start each half of the game.

“We didn’t know what to expect with Brunswick,” Tlumac said. “They were pretty dominant last year, so we came out excited and aggressive and the kids, I think, played a nice game.”

But it was all smiles on the Brunswick sideline after the contest, with Baribeau noting the unique atmosphere in the Dragons’ gym.

“We pack the gym,” Baribeau said. “Having the band and the cheerleaders here for a Unified game at the end of February, you can’t beat it.”

Brunswick will host Leavitt on Thursday at 4 p.m., while Lisbon, which reached the State Championship game last year, will look to continue its undefeated season with a 3:30 p.m. home game against Lewiston on Thursday.

Lisbon 52, Brunswick 36

at Brunswick High School

Lisbon	—		16	12	16	8		— 52
Brunswick		—	4	12	6	14	—	36

Lisbon — Jake Patenaude 5-0-10, Tyler Halls 0-0-0, Dawson Martel 2-0- 4, Wesley Lucas 14-0-28, Tanton Mattson 0-0-0, Nathan Havlicek 0-0- 0, Austin Fournier 0-0-0, Ryley Austin 1-0-2, Hannah Martel 0-0-0, Michael Farrington 3-0-6, Austin Smith 0-0-0, Brandon Bartlett 1-0-2, Alyssa Judd 0-0-0. Totals — 26-0-52. Brunswick— Tim Humphrey 6-0-14, John J Parker 0-0-0, Romil Peck- Moad 1-0-2, Gillian Doehring 0-0-0, Molly Gramins 0-0-0, Sam Sharpe 0- 0-0, Ketty Stinson 0-0-0, Tad Hugo 5- 0-10, Andrew DuRoss 1-0-2, Stephen Backman 0-0-0, Justin Faulkner 3-0- 6, Catlyn Almodovar 1-0-2. Totals — 17-0-36. 3-point field goals — (B) Tim Humphrey 2. Records — Lisbon 5-0, Brunswick 0- 5. Up next for the Greyhounds — Thursday at home against Lewiston, 3:30 p.m. Up next for the Dragons — Thursday at home against Leavitt, 4 p.m.