CUMBERLAND — Greely High’s defense was impressive in the second quarter when the Rangers drew more offensive charges by York (4) than the Wildcats had points (3).

Then the Rangers got really stingy.

The defending Class A champs outscored York 27-1 in the third quarter and ran away to a 76-41 Class A South boys’ basketball win on Tuesday.

Zach Brown led the charge with 25 points, including two layups about 8 seconds apart after his own midcourt steals.

“Our offense usually comes from our defense so getting steals and forcing bad shots by the other team makes us able to get out in transition and get open looks,” Brown said. “I think that’s where our team really shines.”

Greely improved to 8-0 with its 30th consecutive win. The Rangers were 22-0 last season while winning the state title. Brown and guard Shane DeWolfe are the two returning starters. Greely played without Mike Coppersmith, last season’s sixth man. Coppersmith rolled his ankle in practice on Monday and was on the bench and not in uniform.

“It’s a very different team. Last year we had a lot of leadership and scoring that we lost so a lot of us had to step up,” Brown said. “Last year we could outscore teams and not play as hard on defense but this year defense is really our strong point.”

Getting DeWolfe back on the court after missing the first month because of a knee injury helps. He drew at least five charges against York, a team that showed early it wanted to drive to the basket at every opportunity.

Greely also has a good inside scoring presence with 6-foot-8 Jack Kane (13 points, 4 blocks and one dunk) and 6-foot-5 junior Andrew Storey (10 points).

York (6-3) opened the season with six straight wins under first-year coach Paul Marquis but has lost three straight in five days. In losses to Kennebunk and Westbrook, York was very much in the game in the fourth quarter.

“Certainly today’s mood is one we haven’t felt before,” said Marquis. “This is a different feeling but that happens. Hey, Greely did a lot of things very, very well.”

York opened the game looking like it was ready to give Greely a tussle. Riley Johnston and Will MacDonald (team-high 11 points) both hit open 3s. Chris Cummins, Riley Linn and MacDonald scored going to the basket and York trailed just 17-12 after a quarter despite giving up Kane’s strong two-handed dunk.

In the second quarter, Brown found his shooting range after a slow start to score seven points and DeWolfe frustrated York by taking three charges, and Greely’s trapping defense forced seven turnovers. York had another 11 turnovers in the third quarter.

“What we try to harp on is defensively we always want to be in good position and we have guys that will step up and take (charges),” said Greely Coach Travis Seaver. “It’s something Shane’s great at and something we’ve missed and having Shane back in the lineup certainly helps in those things. They’re good at getting to the rim and we wanted to take angles away and defensively we can be really good.”

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