KENNEBUNK — The Kennebunk Rams used a 23-9 second-quarter run to take a double-digit lead into the second half and would hold on from there as they picked up a 67-52 win over visiting Wells on Tuesday night.

The Rams would lead by 11 heading into the third quarter and seemed to be on their way to a lopsided win, but the Warriors turned up the pressure in the second half – and would make Kennebunk fight till the end.

Senior Matt Marrero, who didn’t play in the first half, was key to the Warriors’ pressure as he led a full-court press, which forced several Kennebunk turnovers and helped Wells cut into the lead.

“They are athletic, they’re fast, so it was a lot faster on the court for the guys. It was a good press and you know, when a team presses like that, you are going to have turnovers. It’s just a matter of adjusting and being able to handle it eventually,” said Kennebunk coach Barrett Belanger.

The Rams eventually figured out the press enough to slow down a Wells rally, which cut the lead to eight points with under three minutes left, and pick up the win.

Belanger was happy to see his team respond to the Warriors’ pressure down the stretch.

“That’s a good team and that’s the type of defense that you see going down the road. If you learn to win games like this, you learn to win going forward,” said Belanger.

Senior Zach MacKinnon led the Rams with 21 points on the night – including 10 points during Kennebunk’s big second-quarter run.

“This was a big game, a rivalry game, so I just tried to do what I could to get a win,” said MacKinnon. “This is a huge win, not just because (it prepares us for the) playoffs, but this is a rivalry game, we only get one of them this year, it was just a huge win.”

The Rams also got a big game from freshman point guard Cam Lovejoy, who finished the night with 13 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter.

“Both of them shot great,” said Belanger of MacKinnon and Lovejoy. “First of all, I tell everyone they have a green light. We are a good shooting team and one of them is going to be hot on any given night. Tonight, they both shot well.”

Belanger was happy with his young point guard’s performance despite being under a ton of pressure from the Wells defense.

“Cam does a lot for us just in terms of how good of a point guard he is. He had some struggles tonight, but he singlehandedly was beating the press for us at points tonight, which was huge,” said Belanger.

The Rams also got some big points from 6-foot-7 center Travon Bradford down the stretch as the senior big man scored six of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“He’s a mismatch, whether he’s scoring or not, people have to concentrate on him,” said Belanger of Bradford.

The win puts the Rams at 5-3 on the year and just one win away from reaching last year’s win total of six. According to Belanger, who took over the program last year, it was only a matter of time before everything clicked for his team.

“It’s just a familiarity thing … we go to practice, they know what I expect, they work hard,” said Belanger. “Our defense is now two years into it, so it’s just a matter of them getting used to me, me getting used to them, and we kind of learn to play off each other.”

Wells was led by Owen Berry and Deandre Woods, who both finished the night with 14 points. Marrero finished with seven points and Riley Dempsey, Keegan Reidy and Dylan MacKay all chipped in with four points.

For the visiting Warriors, the loss drops them to 3-4 on the year, but they are still in good position in the Class B playoff race.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 322.