BRUNSWICK

Whether it was first-game nerves or not, the Brunswick High School boys basketball team was just a tick off in the first half of its Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference season opener against Cony on Friday night, trailing the Rams 23-21 at the break.

Coach Todd Hanson didn’t change too much, telling his team to simply start making shots while picking up the defensive intensity.

Those words of wisdom were taken to heart, and in a hurry, as the Dragons scored the first 11 points of the second half and cruised from there in a 58-39 victory in a fast-paced game.

The main catalysts for the Dragons were Mitch and Ryan Black. Youngster Ryan scored 13 of his team- high 16 points in the second half, while Mitch had seven points in the third quarter, plus four assists and three steals as Brunswick outscored the stunned Rams (0-1) 20-3 for a 41-26 lead after 24 minutes.

“I felt with 16 more minutes to play that we would take over and begin playing our game after missing a lot of shots in the first half,” said Hanson after watching his Dragons shoot 61 percent (16 of 26) in the second half after a woeful seven-of-29 (24 percent) showing in the first. “I thought we came out with more energy and pushed the tempo. The first half we played OK, but established defensive intensity in the second.”

“It was very important to start off the season on a positive note as a team,” said Ryan Black, who had four steals and scored nine points in the pivotal third quarter. “We stepped up the intensity and made a good showing in the second half. We knew Cony didn’t want to play a fast-paced game, so we pushed things.”

All Cooper

Brunswick took a 9-7 lead after eight minutes, with Brad Smith, Elliot Boyd, Konnor Scarponi and Mitch Black scoring two points each. For Cony, Walker Cooper scored five of his team’s seven points, and his 10-point performance in the second quarter gave him 15 at the break as the Rams took a two-point lead to the half.

Down 18-13 with four minutes on the clock, Josiah Hayward’s putback and four points from Cooper gave Cony its first lead, 19-18, and Zach Lachance’s jumper finished off an 8-0 Rams run.

“We could see that Cony wanted to play more of a half-court offense, and Cooper was the only one really hurting us,” said Hanson. “We paid a lot more attention to him in the second half.”

Garrett Erb’s pass to Ryan Black for a 3-pointer just eight seconds into the second half put Brunswick in the lead for good, 24-23. Mitch Black’s steal and layup made it a three-point game, and Ryan Black finished off a pass from brother Mitch moments later to force a Cony timeout.

The break did little for the Rams, who watched the Dragons score four more points to complete an 11-0 run for a 32-23 lead. A 3-pointer by Lachance stopped the Brunswick run, but the Dragons closed the quarter on a 9-0 spurt, including a 3-pointer from Mitch Black at the buzzer, for a 15-point lead.

Cooper’s only bucket of the second half early in the fourth quarter drew the Rams to 43-30, but a six-point run gave the Dragons their biggest lead, 49-30 with five minutes remaining.

Scarponi chipped in eight points off the Brunswick bench, while Anderson and Boyd contributed five points apiece. Smith pulled down seven rebounds, while Anderson had six caroms as Brunswick held a 30- 27 edge on the boards. Erb had a game- high seven assists and six steals.

The Dragons, who visit Lawrence on Tuesday (7 p.m.), finished 23-of-55 (41 percent) from the floor and nine-of-12 from the foul line.

Cooper led all scorers with 18 points, with Hayward adding eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. The Rams were 14-of-51 (27 percent) from the floor and seven- of- nine from the charity stripe.

Brunswick 58, Cony 39

At	Brunswick
Cony —		7	16	3	13	—	39
Brunswick	—	9	12	20	17	—	58

Cony — Zach Lachance 2-0-5, Chandler Shostak 0-0-0,
Alex Neill 0-0-0, Josiah Hayward 4-0-8, Walker Cooper 5-
7-18, Ben Lucas 1-0-2, Derek Elvin 0-0-0, Kyle Elvin 0-0-0,
Kevin Kingsbury 0-0-0, Mitchell Bonenfant 2-0-6, Austin
Figoli 0-0-0. Totals — 14-7-39.
Brunswick — Ryan Black 7-0-16, Mitch Black 5-4-15,
Trent Anderson 2-1-5, Garrett Erb 0-2-2, Brad Smith 2-0-4,
Elliot Boyd 2-1-5, Konnor Scarponi 4-0-8, Jibreel Garrett 0-
1-1, Blake Gordon 0-0-0, Alex Viola 1-0-2, James Bandouveres 0-0-0, Nolan Robbins 0-0-0. Totals — 23-9-58.
3-point field goals — (C) Lachance, Cooper, Bonenfant 2;
(B) R. Black 2, M. Black.
Records — Brunswick 1-0, Cony 0-1.
Next — The Dragons visit Lawrence on Tuesday at 7 p.m.