The Ararat sixth-grade girls basketball team poses after winning the title during the Brunswick Parks and Recreation Tournament in February (Angela Hanson photo)
BRUNSWICK — Back in February, life went on at the Brunswick Recreation Department, as youth basketball tournaments were held and champions were crowned.
Hard to believe that one month later, schools are closed until at least April 27, spring sports are shut down, and life as we know it has changed due to the coronavirus.
Here, we will look back at the six tournaments, with players from grades 3-6 in action:
6th-grade girls
The Ararat squad trailed Lawrence by a 13-11 score at the half, but a strong third quarter turned the tide, leading Ararat to a 27-21 victory
Emma Berry and Kayleigh Wagg paced the win with eight points each, while Lawrence received a game-high 11 points from Maddie Provost.
Ararat’s opening game of the tournament came in the quarterfinals against CLC, which downed Bath, 45-9. In Ararat’s 27-12 win, a strong first half led to a 16-4 halftime advantage. Ava Hanson led the victory with eight points, while Aubrey Pelletier added six points.
Maggie Thompson had five points for CLC, one game after putting up 20 points in the win over Bath, which was led by three points from Cheyenne Shipley.
Host Brunswick began the tourney with a 29-4 win over Boothbay. Nataleigh Cantrell scored seven points, with Brooke Chaput and Eva Kousky splitting 12 points down the middle.
Bath earned a 27-1o win over Boothbay in a consolation behind nine points from Alyssa Komiega and six from Shipley.
Also in the first round, Five Town rolled to a 49-5 win over Westbrook. Five Town’s run ended against Lawrence in a 42-35 setback, and Medomak captured a 25-3 win over Westbrook.
Brunswick faced Gardiner in the quarterfinals, dropping a 26-12 decision. Gardiner led 12-2 at the half, and Brynn Chaisson had 10 points. Chaput had four points to lead Brunswick.
In the semifinals, Lawrence advanced with a 37-18 win over Gardiner, followed by Ararat taking a 31-19 decision over Medomak. Wagg and Hanson led the way with six points apiece, while Medomak was paced by nine points from Rachel Richardson.
6th-grade boys
In the opening round, Augusta defeated Auburn, 47-27; Westbrook downed Boothbay, 49-22; and Gray-New Gloucester pulled away from Bonny Eagle, 27-16.
Brunswick used a hot start (10-0 first-quarter lead) en route to a 48-5 victory over CLC. Adrian Reyes and Allan Swain paced the win with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
After a pair of consolation games (Auburn 60, Boothbay 8; Bonny Eagle 39, CLC 12), Brunswick squared off with Gray-New Gloucester in the semifinals. Leading 27-16 after three quarters, the hosts had to hold on as the visitors made a run, eventually falling, 32-29. Logan Gray (nine points), Nate Eggerling (eight), Brendan Shaw (seven) and Reyes (six) led the win, with Gray’s Jacoby Bragdon leading all scores with 11 points.
In the other semifinal, Augusta captured a 41-21 win, setting up a final with Brunswick. Augusta used a solid 16-of-20 showing from the free-throw line to hold off Brunswick for a 46-33 victory. Parker Morin picked up 19 points in the win, with Jack Fontaine adding eight. Eggerling paced Brunswick with 10 points, followed by Shaw with six.
5th-grade boys
Brunswick was dominant in capturing the title, going 3-0.
The hosts defeated Gray-NG in its opener, 39-15, behind eight points each from Oliver Gorchoff and Liam Rapoza. A 37-27 semifinal victory over Augusta followed as Rapoza popped for 14 points, with Rylan Levy and Declan Theberge picking up eight points apiece.
In the championship, Brunswick faced Five Town, using a 14-0 fourth-quarter surge to finish off a 43-18 victory. Ley and Matthew Leclerc had eight points each, while Rapoza and Owen McGrath each finished with six. Soren Johnson paced Five Town with six points.
The host Brunswick fifth-grade boys basketball team shows off their trophies after winning the Brunswick Recreation basketball tournament in February. (Submitted photo)
Earlier in the tournament, Augusta rolled past Freeport, 51-24. Brady Cloutier’s 21 points led the win, while Freeport was paced by eight points from Benjamin Albertini.
Coastal downed South Portland, 36-28, and Five Town stopped Auburn, 38-19, while in consolation action, Auburn nipped South Portland, 22-21, and Freeport fell to Gray-NG, 22-15 despite six points from Andrew Thomas.
Five Town advanced to the championship game with a 46-36 win over Coastal.
5th-grade girls
In the opening round, both Brunswick and Ararat fell.
In Brunswick’s 27-20 loss to Jumpstart, Maddison Watson had seven points and Julianna Mornin picked up six. Abbey Steele led Jumpstart with 10 points.
Ararat dropped a 26-12 decision to Auburn. Piper Croteau, Jenna Shea and Caisyn Langley had six points each for Auburn, while six players scored two points each for Ararat.
Biddeford (30-12 win over Augusta) and China (29-19 win over Westbrook) advanced. In the first of two consolations, Brunswick cruised to a 38-3 win over Augusta. Mornin and Elizabeth Wright had 14 points each to lead all scorers, with Watson adding 10.
Ararat fell to Westbrook, 17-6. Ava Blethen had 14 points for Westbrook, with Amia Kennedy scoring four for Ararat.
In the championship game, Jumpstart held on for a 23-17 win over China. Emma Hamilton had eight points in the win.
3rd/4th-grade girls
In all, 16 teams participated in the tournament at the Rec.
In the opening round, Bath edged past Gray-NG, 21-19, behind 10 points from Harper Steenstra. In a close game from the opening tip, Topsham found a way past Medomak, 12-9, as Kamryn Chase had six points. Sadie Muller had five points in Brunswick’s 16-9 loss to Windsor. And Ararat put up 20 points combined in the second and third quarters en route to a 28-11 win over Winslow. Cassidy Cornish and Cali Leclair both had eight points for Ararat.
The second round featured a matchup between Topsham and Bath, with Topsham coming out on top, 25-11. Chase had nine points for Topsham, with Molly Cosgrove finishing with eight for Bath. Mt. Desert Island ended Ararat’s hopes, capturing a 19-7 win. Addy Dowsland led MDI with seven points, with Cornish picking up three for Ararat.
In a consolation matchup, Brunswick rolled to a 20-6 win over Auburn. Victoria Wright and Emma Michaud split 12 points.
In a 23-6 semifinal win over Gardiner #2, Topsham received eight points from Halie Ruff and four from Haven Ruff, setting up a championship matchup with Gardiner #1, which defeated MDI, 29-16, in the other semifinal.
Molly Takatsu’s 10 points led Gardiner #1 to a 26-20 championship win. Topsham was paced by six points from Isabella Murphy.
3rd/4th-grade boys
Another 16 teams came to Brunswick. Three of the four area teams fell in the opening round, with only host Brunswick coming out with a win. Brunswick defeated Medomak #2, 31-20, behind 10 points from Lennox Moore and eight from Owen Quinn.
Ararat dropped a tough 29-28 decision to Gray-NG. Ben Gove and Andrew Taylor picked up 10 points in the loss, with Gray paced by 13 from Owen Austin.
Topsham was defeated by Hall-Dale, 42-29, despite seven points from Fox Norton, with Hall-Dale’s Gage Mattson leading all scorers with 12 points.
And Bath dropped a 48-18 contest to St. Brigid. Wyatt Byrd had nine points in the loss.
Brunswick tallied 10 points in the each quarter en route to a 40-23 quarterfinal win over Wells. Quinn had 10 points and Bryce Gerrish eight.
However, Brunswick’s run ended in the semifinals, a 34-19 loss to St. Brigid. Moore had eight points in the setback.
In consolation contests, Ararat defeated Boothbay, 31-27, behind 10 points from Gove; Topsham fell to CLC, 28-24, with Dylan Nappes scoring six points, and Bath dropped a 26-23 decision to Five Town, with Jordan Watson picking up 10 points for Bath.
In the championship, St. Brigin fell to Bangor, 34-26. Jacoby Harvey had 15 points for Bangor, while St. Brigid was led by Ian Sangwa’s 13 points.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
