Brunswick came away with a 68-38 victory in the final regular season game for the two Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference foes.
The win bumped the 12-6 Dragons to the No. 7 spot in the Class A South Heal Points, avoiding a preliminary game and facing Biddeford (15-3) in the quarterfinals at the Portland Expo at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 17. The Dragons lost to the Tigers, 67-58 last week in Brunswick.
His father, coach Todd Hanson echoed those sentiments.
“We knew the circumstances coming into the game, it was a must win for us if we wanted to move up in the Heals,” said coach Hanson.
Coming off a hard-fought loss against Edward Little on Tuesday, Coach Hanson wanted his team to come out with some intensity.
“We knew EL was a top team and we wanted to use that game for tonight and next week, controlling the tempo,” said coach Hanson. “We did a good job with the tempo tonight and looked comfortable doing so.”
The Dragons responded such, racing out to a 16-7 lead after eight minutes, led by Dawson Hebert’s five points, including a basket from behind the arc. Junior Noah Cox also sank a trey in the quarter while Colby Bucknam hauled down three boards.
“We preached that we didn’t want quick shots, to be patient and spread the ball around,” said coach Hanson. “Once they came out and pressured us, we were able to find the open guy. That also works the other way for us, being able to kick it out and let Noah and Dawson spread the floor for us.”
The second quarter was more of the same, getting eight points from Bucknam, including 6-for-7 from the foul line. A Jacob Lamoureaux basket after a Kyle Hanson swipe with two minutes left pushed the Dragons lead to 30-12. Lamoureaux tallied six of his eight first-half points in the second quarter.
Mt. Ararat’s Austin Damon provided a spark off the bench for the Eagles in the second quarter with three offensive rebounds and four points and junior Greg Malin sank a trey, but the hosts found themselves trailing 34- 18 at the break.
“They’re tough. They shoot well and when they’re on, they hit their shots,” said Mt. Ararat coach Jeff Hogan. “Todd coaches them well and has them prepared. Any team can be beaten come playoff time, I wish them the best of luck.”
Hebert registered nine first-half points while Bucknam and Lamoureaux each had eight.
The Dragons kept their foot on the pedal as they opened the second half with a 13-4 run behind Cox’s five points and a pair of key defensive rebounds by Hanson to keep the Eagles at a distance.
A Nathan Taylor trey for the Eagles snapped the run followed by a Ryan Mello put back, but it wasn’t enough as the Dragons held a 51-27 advantage through three quarters.
Both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter. The final eight minutes marked the end of Mt. Ararat’s seven seniors’ high school basketball careers.
“It’s an emotional time,” said Mt. Ararat senior Tanner Greenleaf. “It’s been a great four years with these guys. It’s genuinely a brotherhood, I love these guys.”
Greenleaf finished with seven points to lead the Eagles. Max Spelke chipped in with five points and Damon added four points and four rebounds in the loss.
“These kids played hard,” said Hogan. “Being a first-year varsity coach, this group of seniors will be missed.”
Although it was tough ending the season with a loss, the Eagles basketball program appears to be heading in the right direction, and that has coach Hogan already looking toward next season.
“We’ve got some good ball players here. These kids come and put in the work. I’d say look out next year,” said Hogan with a smile.
Although the tournament is on the horizon for the Dragons, both Todd and Kyle Hanson were able to reflect some as well.
“I’ve known most of these seniors since they were in third grade. This group of seniors come to practice and work hard day in and day out,” said coach Hanson. “They never gripe and are always willing to put the work in.”
“It’s special to be out here with these guys,” said the younger Hanson. “Jacob moved here in junior high, but other than that, we’ve all been playing together since grade school.”
Lamoureaux and Bucknam paced the Dragons with 14 points each. Bucknam also pulled in five boards. Hebert finished with 11 points, while Hanson had six to go with his three rebounds, three assists and trio of steals. Cox added 10 points to go with his three rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win.
Brunswick 68, Mt. Ararat 38
At Topsham
| Brunswick | — | 16 18 | 17 | 17 | — | 68 | ||
| Mt. | Ararat | — | 7 | 11 | 9 | 11 | — | 38 |
Brunswick — Noah Cox 4-0-10,
Dawson Hebert 4-2-11, Kyle Hanson
3-0-6, Jack Bates 2-0-4, Colby Bucknam 4-6-14, Jacob Lamoureaux 7-0-
14, Cameron Dunton 1-0-2, Alex
Small 0-0-0, Aiden Glover 0-0-0, Finn
Mitchell 1-0-2, Evan Kilfoil 1-2-5.
Totals — 27-10-68.
Mt. Ararat — Jessie Mujambere 0-0-
0, Nick Merrill 0-0-0, Kyle Brennan 1-
1-3, Michael Rogers 1-0-2, Peter
Lavan 1-0-2, Ryan Mello 1-0-2, Jared
Balser 1-0-2, Tanner Greenleaf 2-3-7,
Greg Malin 1-0-3, Max Spelke 2-1-5,
Austin Damon 1-2-4, Sean Roberts 0-
0-0, Nathan Taylor 1 – 0 – 3 ,
James Singleton 1-0-2, Ben Freeman
1-0-3. Totals — 14-7-38.
3-point goals — (B) Cox 2, Hebert,
Kilfoil; (MtA) Malin, Taylor, Freeman.
Records — Brunswick 15-3, Mt.
Ararat 7-11.
Up next for the Dragons — Class A
South quarterfinals at Portland Expo,
Saturday, Feb. 17 against Biddeford,
8:30 p.m.
Up next for the Eagles — Mt. Ararat
concludes its season.
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