BRUNSWICK

A key statistic through three quarters of Saturday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference “Battle of the Bridge” contest between Brunswick and Mt. Ararat was 15-0.

In the final minute of the opening three frames, the Eagles had out-scored the Dragons by 15 points, a big advantage for Mt. Ararat.

But, Brunswick managed to survive, and produced the final seven points over the game’s last three minutes for a 57-51 victory.

The win gives the Dragons four straight and a 10-7 mark as Brunswick gears up for the postseason.

For Mt. Ararat, still playing without its full lineup due to injuries, the record is now 4- 12, but not without giving the Dragons all that it had.

“We work hard at whatever we do,” said Mt. Ararat coach Steve Cox, who recently saw his son and senior Cam Cox return to the Eagles’ lineup. “In so many ways this is one of the most successful seasons when considering the adversity that we have faced. Ryan Mello today should have been in bed, but is here. Cole Guerin should be having surgery on his nose, but he is here. Nick Merrill, Tanner Greenleaf, we’ve had to take them off the court the rest of the season. To have done things the way we have done, this season is a success.”

“Hand it to Mt. Ararat. They played well and pushed us today,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson. “What set the tone, is we have two turnovers in the first 18 seconds of the game, and that to me was disappointing, indicating that we weren’t really ready to play. The second half I thought we did better. We held them to two field goals in the second half. I thought our defensive energy was much better. Lucky for us, we made some shots in the fourth quarter.”

“It was intense,” said Teel, who discussed his team’s mental lapses in the final stages of the first three frames. “We were being lazy, not guarding and playing soft. We thought we would come in here and get an easy win, but against Mt. Ararat, there are no easy wins.

After a back-and-forth opening quarter that saw the Dragons claim a 16-15 lead, Mt. Ararat pushed back, forcing four ties and two lead changes. Trailing 25-21 with 41 ticks left until halftime, Austin Damon entered the game and scored five quick points to give the Eagles the lead. Guerin beat the halftime horn with a 3- pointer as Mt. Ararat charged off to the locker room with a 29-25 lead.

Neither team found much of a flow in the third quarter. The Eagles failed to make a field goal in the frame, going 0-for-10, but Mt. Ararat was hot from the free-throw line, making 9-of- 10, including three in the final 30 seconds of the quarter for a 38-35 advantage.

Working the boards

Brunswick began building some momentum for itself in the late stages of the third quarter. On one possession, Teel, Jackson Gordon and Colby Bucknam worked the offensive boards.

This carried the Dragons into the fourth quarter. Trailing 42-35 after a Cam Cox trey and free throw from Jared Balser, Josh Dorr grabbed his own miss and scored to get Brunswick rolling. Dorr scored again inside, and moments later completed a three-point play to bring the Dragons to 43-42.

After two Mt. Ararat free throws, Jesse Devereaux stepped back and swished a 3-pointer to tie the game at 45, and Nate Benoit came through with a big trey for a 48-47 Brunswick lead with 4:28 remaining.

The lead changed hands twice more, with Mt. Ararat holding a 51-50 lead after a pair of free throws by Cam Cox.

But, Brunswick answered when Gordon’s hoop-and-harm gave the Dragons the lead for good.

Leading 54-51, Christian Glover worked hard to secure a steal. He missed a layup, but Teel was there for the offensive board and Dorr hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to put the Eagles away.

Brunswick finished with a 28-21 edge in rebounding, including 21 caroms off the offensive glass, led by Gordon with nine.

“At halftime, coach said we needed to get our act together and we did,” said Teel, who had eight points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists. “The offensive rebounds were big today. Jackson was a beast all game, and we all started working hard to get those loose balls.”

For Coach Cox, he felt his team gave it their all.

“We put ourselves in the spot that we wanted to be in, and the important thing is we only have one experienced player in close games,” said the coach, whose Eagles host unbeaten Medomak Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Gordon had a game-high 15 points for Brunswick, with Benoit and Dorr adding 13 apiece. Devereaux dished out four assists and picked up three steals.

Cam Cox led Mt. Ararat with 11 points, while Ryan Mello added nine points, all from the free-throw line, and 11 rebounds. Jared Balser and Cole Guerin each picked up seven points, while Sean Roberts added six.

Mt. Ararat was 24-of-29 from the charity stripe, while Brunswick, which visits Lewiston on Tuesday at 7 p.m., finished 8-of-15.

Brunswick 57,
Mt. Ararat 51

Saturday, at Brunswick
Mt. Ararat — 15 14 9 13 — 51
Brunswick — 16 9 10 22 — 57
Mt. Ararat — Cole Guerin 2-2-7,
Cam Cox 2-5-11, Max Spelke 0-2-2,
Ryan Mello 0-9-9, Jared Balser 2-3-7,
Sean Roberts 2-0-6, Steven Gerencer
1-2-4, Jake Steinman 0-0-0, Austin
Damon 2-1-5, Kyle Brennan 0-0-0.
Totals — 11-24-51.
Brunswick — Jesse Devereaux 1-0-
3, Nate Benoit 5-0-13, Josh Dorr 5-3-
13, Jackson Gordon 7-1-15, Corban
Teel 2-4-8, Colby Bucknam 1-0-2,
Christian Glover 0-0-0, Alejandro Garcia Sancho 0-0-0, Kyle Hanson 1-0-3.
Totals — 22-8-57.
3-point field goals — (MtA) Cox 2,
Roberts 2, Guerin; (B) Benoit 3, Devereaux, Hanson.
Records — Brunswick 10-7; Mt.
Ararat 4-12.
Up next for the Eagles — Tuesday at
home vs. Medomak Valley, 7 p.m.
Up next for the Dragons — Tuesday
at Lewiston, 7 p.m.