BRUNSWICK

Edward Little and Brunswick both saw Tuesday night’s boys high school basketball game as a key test to prepare for a tournament runs.

The Class AA North Red Eddies passed the test, beating the Dragons, 54-45 on senior night in Brunswick.

Despite a 20-9 hole after one quarter and a 30-19 deficit at halftime, The Dragons battled back on their home floor.

“Todd’s been here (at Brunswick) over 20 years and I’ve been at EL for 18,” said Edward Little coach Mike Adams. “He runs a great program here and I knew we were going to have a battle. They play well here.”

“We said this is great preparation for us,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson. “We’re going to have an all-out battle Thursday night with Mt. Ararat and then if we’re lucky enough to qualify for the tournament whoever we play is going to be a really good team.”

The Red Eddies (13-4) used their size and athleticism to jump out to an early lead. Forward Wol Maiwen used his long reach inside for a pair of early baskets. Dragons senior Colby Bucknam did his best to provide a spark for his team, scoring the first six points of the game for his side. With the Dragons trailing 20-6, Dawson Hebert drilled a three from the corner to give the Dragons some momentum at the end of the quarter.

“That’s what we wanted to do, get our after them,” said Adams, whose Red Eddies close out the season with Bangor Thursday at 7 p.m. “We’re a little more athletic and we wanted to use that size and athleticism, get them to go faster than they wanted to go.”

”I think we were just overwhelmed by their size, quickness, and athleticism. That’s really hard to replicate in practice,” said Hanson.

“Once we adjusted to that after a quarter, we did a much better job of not being in panic mode.”

The Red Eddies kept pressure on the Dragons (11-6) to start the second quarter, as Darby Shea knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game early on. Trailing by double digits, the Dragons started to slow the game down. Bucknam continued to lead the way offensively with four points in the quarter, and Cam Dunton chipped in with four of his own in the frame. Brunswick still found themselves 11 points behind with a 30-19 halftime score.

The Dragons adjusted in the second half to the pace the Red Eddies brought to the floor. Brunswick stormed back with a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. Hebert got things started with another three from beyond the arc, Finn Mitchell followed that up with a quick basket and foul shot. Plays started to break the Dragons’ way as a basket that would have stopped the momentum was waved off for offensive goaltending. The Dragons outscored Edward Little 16-6 in the third quarter to pull within one, 36-35.

“We were able to attack and took advantage of some things. Tempo’s really important, EL’s not a team we match up with really well to run up and down the court,” said Hanson. “It’s important for us to control the tempo and get better shots. That allowed us to get back in the game.”

“Coach just said intensity, hard work, and communication,” said Bucknam. “That’s what we had to bring to the floor.”

The Dragons were unable to take a lead, and the Red Eddies athleticism took over again midway through the fourth quarter. The teams traded trey’s, with Shea stretching the Red Eddies lead to 45-40. With Mitchell seemingly alone for a layup, Maiwen made a highlight-reel block from behind using the backboard. Edward Little stretched the lead to 47-40 and held on from there. Both coaches saw the game as a great test and tune-up for tournament play.

“We want to go fast, there’s no secret about that,” said Adams. “We’ve said before, good teams have to score in the quarter court, hopefully we got a little bit better tonight. We saw a lot

“We wanted to use this as a good prep for the next two,” said Hanson. “We were a lot more patient and instead of taking the first or second available shot we waited until we had a really good look coming off a screen or a back cut.”

Maiwen led the way for the Red Eddies with 24 points. Shea finished with 14, and Ibn Khalid chipped in 10 points. Edward Little currently sits in second place in the Class AA North heal points.

Bucknam and Hebert finished each finished with 12 points for the Dragons. Mitchell added seven points as the Dragons now sit in eighth in the Class A South Heal Points.