BRUNSWICK

There were a bunch of smiling faces, with tons of hugs to go around after the Brunswick-Mt. Ararat boys high school basketball contest on Thursday.

The Dragons were celebrating a hard-fought 63-50 victory over their “Battle of the Bridge” rivals to finish 10-8, with coach Todd Hanson expecting his team to garner the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinals.

Aaron Watson’s Eagles were celebrating for another reason.

Moments after the loss, Mt. Ararat players emerged from the locker room with the news that Brewer, beginning the night as the No. 10 seed in Eastern A behind ninth-seeded Mt. Ararat, had lost its finale to rival Bangor, 68-53. Watson hugged his players, parents and anyone else close by, beaming with confidence that his Eagles had qualified for the playoffs and were off to face Oxford Hills in a preliminary contest next Wednesday.

“For us to get to the edge of the playoffs and not have that opportunity to taste that dance would have been disappointing,” said Watson. “The Heals can be funny, but I think with Brewer’s loss that gets us in. We will keep our fingers crossed until it is for sure.”

One week ago, Brunswick dropped its fourth straight to fall to 8-8, but two wins in the final week of the season seems to have the Dragons (10-8) pointed back in the right direction.

“After the four-game losing streak, we needed a couple wins, and tonight we made shots for a big win,” said Brunswick guard Derek Devereaux, who drained four treys and made all four his free throws to finish with 16 points.

Slow start

After celebrating Senior Night, the Dragons came out of the gates slow, trailing 7-2.

“Unfortunately, I had to take a timeout, and we just didn’t have that energy or bounce,” said Hanson, who inserted Alex Bandouveres, Ryan Black and Devereaux into the game.

The moves worked, as the Dragons went on an 18-2 run for a 20-9 lead with 5:27 left until halftime. Bandouveres scored all 10 of his points in the paint during the run, while Blake Gordon had eight, Devereaux six and Black four assists as the Dragons shot 54 percent (13 of 24) from the floor and led 31-19 at the break.

“We were worried about their 3-point shooting, and talked if a team was going to beat us it would be from the arc,” said Watson. “Bandouveres hit some big shots inside and we gave up some key rebounds at key times.”

“We have tried to emphasize getting inside touches, knowing it opens the outside game for us,” said Hanson. “If we want to win in the tournament, we have to establish post presence, and if we can make shots from the perimeter, we are a tough matchup.”

Brunswick’s third-quarter lead ran between 10 and 17 points. A Ryan Black jumper staked the Dragons to a 47-30 lead late in the third frame.

Mt. Ararat refused to quit, with Shyheim Ulrickson scoring 11 of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter, and Tyler Roberts’ 3-pointer from the corner made for a 50-46 contest with 3:34 remaining in regulation.

“These guys just won’t give up, like the cockroach that won’t give up and die, and we worked so hard during that run,” said Watson. “I wish we had those four points. But, I am so proud of them and I think this team deserves another game.”

“It felt great, and we wanted to come back and make it a game at the end,” said Mt. Ararat’s Alex LaPierre, who had 11 points, including two 3-pointers. “It means everything to battle hard against Brunswick. This is the ‘Battle of the Bridge.’”

Mt. Ararat had two chances to draw closer, but a missed shot and a Black steal allowed Brunswick to stay two possessions ahead. The Dragons, who were just three of seven from the free-throw line through three quarters, found their stroke in the fourth, making eight straight to pull away.

“I told the kids we have to be tough, and our mental toughness would get us through, and we had some big stops at the end,” said Hanson. “I looked at some faces in the beginning of the year and saw some unsure looks, but now I look and I see confidence.”

Gordon paced Brunswick with 19 points and six rebounds. Konnor Scarponi chipped in seven points, while Ryan Black added six and Brad Smith five points, six rebounds and three assists. The Dragons shot 50 percent (22 of 44) from the floor and made 12 of 19 at the line.

Mt. Ararat’s was 15 of 50 (30 percent) from the field and a solid 16 of 18 at the charity stripe. Roberts scored eight off the bench, while Mason Griffin had six points and five boards, and Jake Demosthenes six points.

Brunswick 63,
Mt. Ararat 50

At Brunswick
Mt. Ararat — 9 10 18 13 — 50
Brunswick — 15 16 17 15 — 63
Mt. Ararat — Alex LaPierre 4-1-11, Jake
Demosthenes 1-4-6, Shyheim Ulrickson
5-8-19, Jason Tome 0-0-0, Mason Griffin
2-2-6, Gabe Pelletier 0-0-0, Tyler Roberts
3-1-8, Kevin Carter 0-0-0, Zach Greene 0-
0-0, Jordan Castonguay 0-0-0, Brian
Johnson 0-0-0. Totals — 15-16-50.
Brunswick — Blake Gordon 7-4-19, Konnor Scarponi 2-2-7, Nolan Robbins 0-0-0,
Brett Lancaster 0-0-0, Brad Smith 2-1-5,
Alex Bandouveres 5-0-10, Ryan Black 2-
1-6, Derek Devereaux 4-4-16, Pearson
Cost 0-0-0.
3-pointers — (MA) LaPierre 2, Ulrickson,
Roberts; (B) Gordon, Scarponi, Black,
Devereaux 4.
Records — Brunswick 10-8, Mt. Ararat 7-
11.
Next — The Eagles, the likely No. 9 seed
in Eastern A, get a preliminary contest,
possibly at No. 8 Oxford Hills, on
Wednesday. Brunswick heads to the
Augusta Civic Center for the Eastern A
quarterfinals Feb. 16 against an opponent
to be determined.