BATH

Nothing like playing against one of your rivals in the first game of the boys high school basketball season.

On Friday night, Brunswick traveled up Route 1 to take on the Morse Shipbuilders to do just that.

In a game of runs, the Dragons held off a late Morse charge in the fourth quarter to open the season with a 43-38 win in Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference action at Bath Middle School.

“It was a tale of four quarters, we came out a little jittery, but were able to settle down and do our thing in the second half,” Brunswick (1- 0) coach Todd Hanson said.

If the teams were jittery out of the gate, neither team showed it, combining for 28 points in first quarter that saw four lead changes. Tom Warren’s 3-pointer with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter made it 12-6, giving Morse it’s biggest lead in the early going and forcing a Brunswick timeout,

Following the timeout, junior guard Noah Cox answered by hitting his second trey of the game, cutting the Morse lead to three. After a Brunswick hoop by Jacob Lamoureaux sandwiched between a pair of Morse turnovers, Cox hit another trey to give the visitors a 14-12 lead with 1:30 remaining.

The Dragons closed out the quarter on a 10-0 run, leading 16-12.

“We talked in the second quarter and wanted to make sure we ran our offensive plays,” said Hanson. “We wanted to open up our passing lanes and make things happen.”

Another basket from behind the arc for Cox to open the quarter gave Brunswick a seven-point advantage, 19-12.

Parker Onorato sank a 3- point basket to end the Shipbuilders’ five-and-half minute scoring drought.

“We fought throughout, never letting in, trying to stay in the game,” said Morse coach Brian Bennett.

After each team traded hoops, Tyriek Foster nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Shipbuilders within one, 21-20. Baskets by Brunswick’s Jack Bates and Colby Bucknam gave the Dragons a 25- 20 halftime lead. Cox had 12 first-half points for Brunswick, while Warren had 10, all in the first quarter, for Morse.

“Defensively we did OK, offensively we struggled some,” said Bennett. “We talked about it at the half, that we need to spread the ball around more.”

Second half

The Shipbuilders opened the second half with a Josh Doughty basket, cutting the deficit to three. From there, Brunswick netted three field goals, including a trey by Dawson Hebert, and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the freethrow line to finish the quarter on a 12-0 run, holding a 37-22 lead, the biggest of the game for the Dragons.

“The first half it was more like if we’re open, shoot it,” said Cox. “In the second half, we played more of the offense we’re looking for. We passed the ball more, taking more shots that we wanted to take.”

Morse seemed to find its rhythm offensively entering the fourth.

“For three quarters we didn’t really play our offense,” said Onorato.

The home team opened the fourth quarter with a run of its own, scoring 10 straight points, capped by a crowd standing 3-point basket by Warren to cut the lead to five, 37-32 with 3:45 left, prompting a timeout by Hanson.

“They did some things in the fourth to cause us fits. They didn’t quit and really caused problems in the fourth,” said Hanson, as Brunswick had 11 second-half turnovers, with seven coming in the final frame. “I knew they weren’t going to go away. They brought a lot of heat in the fourth quarter.”

Morse outscored the Drag- ons, 16-6 in the final stanza.

“Late in the third quarter we mixed it up on defense, but we just ran out of time, said Barrett.

Each team traded turnovers, missed baskets and a couple of free throws before Morse cut the lead to three. With Onorato (seven points, four assists) fouling out with 1:41 left, Warren looked to take control on offense and drove the lane for a layup with 1:10 remaining.

“Tom stepped up for us in the fourth quarter,” added Oronato. Warren scored all 10 of his second-half points in the fourth quarter.

It was as close as Morse got, as the Dragons sank four more free throws in the final minute to hold on for the victory. The Dragons were 12-for-14 from the charity stripe. Kyle Hanson and Cox were each 4-for-4 from the line for the Dragons. Hanson also hauled in seven rebounds in the victory. Sam Sharpe chipped in eight points for Brunswick.

“We practice free throws every day, at least 50 or so every practice, so we know how important it is to make those,” said Cox, who finished with a team-high 16 points.

Warren finished with a game high 20 points and eight rebounds for the Shipbuilders.

“All in all, I’m happy with the kids. We definitely didn’t lose because of a lack of effort,” said Bennett.

“It’s really hard to win here, and our boys came to play, a good win to open the season,” added coach Hanson.

Brunswick hosts Mt. Ararat in the “Battle of the Bridge” on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., while the Shipbuilders square off with Lincoln Academy at home tonight, also at 6:30 p.m.

Brunswick 43,
Morse 38

Friday at Bath Middle School
Brunswick — 16 9 12 6 — 43
Morse— 12 8 21 6 — 38
Brunswick — Noah Cox 4-4-16, Sam
Sharpe 3-2-8, Kyle Hanson 0-4-4,
Jack Bates 1-0-2, Colby Bucknam 1-
2-4, Dawson Hebert 1-0-3, Cam Dunton 0-0-0, Jacob Lamoureaux 3-0-6.
Totals — 13-12-43.
Morse — Parker Onorato 3-0-7, Josh
Doughty 2-1-5, Tom Warren 8-2-20,
Tyriek Foster 1-0-3, Jackson Walker
0-1-1, Dom Green 0-0-0, Lucas
Osterhaut 1-0-2, Jack Harrington 0-0-
0, Tyree Wiley 0-0-0. 15-4-38.
3-point goals — (B) Cox 4, Hebert;
(Mo) Warren 2, Onorato, Foster.
Records — Brunswick 1-0, Morse 0-
1.
Up next for the Dragons — Wednesday at home vs. Mt. Ararat, 6:30 p.m.
Up next for the Shipbuilders —
Tonight at home vs. Lincoln Academy, 6:30 p.m.