It was a slow start for Brunswick during Tuesday’s Unified basketball game against Westbrook, but the Dragons weren’t phased.
In their final home game of the season, the hosts started making shots and made it a game heading into the second half. Behind the loyal Brunswick faithful, the deficit was cut to just six, twice.
Ultimately, the Blue Blazes proved too much and left Brunswick with a 46-37 win, but it was all heads up on the home bench after the game.
“Over the course of an eight-game season, we’ve got some nice cohesion,” Brunswick coach Chris Baribeau said. “Very, very unselfish play. I couldn’t be happier with this group.”
Westbrook (5-2) stormed out of the gates behind sophomore Mark Preston, who tallied a game-high 18 points and scored the first six points of the game en route to a 14-4 first-quarter edge for the Blue Blazes.
Brunswick (1-7) pushed right back in the second frame, reeling off a 10-0 run and making the score 22-14 headed into the break. Neil Murphy led all Dragon scorers with 10 points, while Andrew DuRoss tallied eight.
“Pretty good,” DuRoss said. “I’m glad we made it this far. We’ve worked as a team, I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
The highlight of the game for Brunswick came at the 2:52 mark in the third quarter, when junior Tim Humphrey was fouled while putting up a 3-pointer. After some initial fist-pumping and celebration, he trotted up to the line and swished his first two free throws. Following the second, to the applause of the Brunswick crowd, he ran around the bench high-fiving his teammates without realizing he had a third freebie left. Sure enough, he walked back up to the line and sent the last one straight through the net as the fans cheered.
All season, the friendships on the Dragons’ bench have been growing.
“The camaraderie is unlike any other team I’ve coached,” Baribeau said of his squad. “Both during the school day and on the court. It’s awesome.”
“It’s so fun,” student helper Gillian Doehring said. “We’re kind of separated from them in school, so it’s really fun to be able to get to know them each individually. They all have their own talents.”
Back and forth
Westbrook controlled the third quarter, with Preston adding six more points and Kerrigan Baither adding two buckets of her own. Baither, Michael Bedard and Tyson Smith all finished with six points for the Blue Blazes, who built the lead back up to 15 by the frame’s end.
Student helper Nate Weatherington was active for the visitors, pulling in six rebounds and handing the ball off to Brunswick players. Once, in the middle of the second quarter, Weatherington stopped the play while his teammates were running to the other end of the floor and handed the ball to Brunswick’s Molly Gramins so she could assist John J. Parker with a shot under the hoop.
Another time, the crowd erupted as Justin Faulkner banked a shot in after Weatherington gave him the ball with three minutes to go in the first half.
On the other side, Stephen Backman hauled in 14 rebounds for Brunswick and helped move the ball around. The Dragons started the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run and ended up out-scoring Westbrook, 12-6. Romil Peck- Moad, who scored all six of his points at the tail-end of the frame, split 12 points down the middle with Faulkner.
Baribeau and his team picked up their first win of the season last week against Leavitt, but as he’ll tell you, he’s not counting wins and losses.
“The record has never been important for us,” Baribeau said. “The maturation of the young athletes, they’ve all developed skill, they’ve learned to play basketball and they’ve had fun.”
“I’m glad I go to Brunswick,” DuRoss said. “Meet new people and I’m glad I’m on this team.”
The Dragons will now head into the playoffs next week, with the destination and team yet to be announced. For Doehring and the other student helpers that have watched their teammates grow and progress this season, it’s been an experience to remember.
“I’m incredibly proud,” Doehring said. “We started out a little rough, but we’ve gotten stronger. We know how to look for our open teammates. We’ve come really far. We know what are shots are, where to go. We’ve made a lot of progress.”
Westbrook 46, Brunswick 37
At Brunswick High School
| Westbrook | — | 14 | 8 | 18 | 6 | — | 46 | |||
| Brunswick | — | 4 | 10 | 11 | 12 | — | 37 |
Westbrook — Kevin Trynor 0-0-0, Adam Whitaker 0-0-0, Nate Weatherington 0-0-0, Mark Preston 9-0-18, David Redmond 0-0-0, Morganne Pelotte 0-0-0, Michaela Russell 0-0-0, Tyson Smith 3-0-6, Matt Fecteau 1-0- 2, Sopa Mongu 0-0-0, Sarah Doughty 1-0-2, Samantha Sawyer-Bartlett 0-0- 0, Michael Bedard 3-0-6, Kerrigan Baither 3-0-6, Marshall McCarthy 1- 0-2, Victor Hanson 1-0-2, Brandon Rogan 1-0-2. Totals — 23-0-46. Brunswick — Ketty Stinson 0-0-0, Justin Faulkner 3-0-6, Romil Peck- Moad 3-0-6, Tad Hugo 1-0-2, Stephen Backman 0-0-0, Nicole Pelletier 0-0-0, Gillian Doehring 0-0-0, Molly Gramins 0-0-0, Tim Humphrey 0-3-3, Sam Sharpe 0-0-0, John J Parker 0-0-0, Catlyn Almodovar 0-0- 0, Neil Murphy 5-0-10, John Johnson (Mt. Ararat) 1-0-2, Andrew DuRoss 4-0-8. Totals — 17-3-37. Records — Westbrook 5-2, Brunswick 1-7 Next up for the Dragons — Tuesday in the Unified Playoffs quarterfinals. Opponent and time TBA.
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