AUGUSTA — The Brewer Witches made enough plays down the stretch and benefitted from a cold shooting performance by the Mt Blue Cougars late in the fourth quarter to advance to the Class A semifinals with a 61-60 win.
Most of the opening quarter would be highlighted by great defense from both teams. For Mt Blue, this was through their great double teams and for Brewer, it was their quickness in getting to whichever defender had the ball. Even on the possessions that each team scored, the defense was noticed, and the baskets were hard fought and often on second chance rebounds. Fittingly, both teams first baskets would be scored on free throws midway through the quarter. This is exactly what Mt Blue wants, as their usual pace during games is low scoring and to keep possessions long. Eventually, the Cougars were able to get more open looks on offense and drove into the paint more. Senior forward Tyler Abell enforced this by drilling a three pointer at the buzzer to give Mt Blue a 14-9 lead over Brewer going into the second quarter.
The second quarter paled in comparison to the first in terms of offensive play on both sides. The Witches, for their part, opened proficient on both sides of the court, getting better ball movement on offense while also improving from their shaky end to the first quarter on defense. This defensive run would not last however, as senior Tyler Abell would continue his excellent three-point shooting from the first quarter, making both of his two attempts in the quarter. The rest of the quarter saw great back and forth ball movement and scoring for both teams, with senior forward Nolan Leso leading the way for the Cougars, having his own excellent three-point spree. The quarter would end smartly for Mt Blue, as senior guard Carter Norton smartly forced a shooting foul beyond the three-point line with no time left and made all three free throws. Mt Blue would take a 34-29 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was played at a better pace for Mt Blue, as they were able to slow down the game more after a very fast paced second quarter. Despite this, Brewer was still scoring in bunches, mainly led by 6’7 freshman Oli Higgins, who scored his 18th point of the game early in the quarter. The offensive play continued to be back and forth for both teams but eventually late in the quarter, the Witches pulled away somewhat for the first time, taking a 47-43 lead into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter, while hard fought for both teams, would ultimately be highlighted by a great transition for Brewer. They were able to steal the pace from the Cougars, creating an eight-point lead for most of the beginning of the quarter and they were able to play slower just as Mt Blue had earlier in the game. The Cougars still had a great offensive push but their defense after baskets was unable to stop the Witches.
With 2:15 remaining, Leso fouled out and Brewer senior Owen Fullerton hit one of two free throws to put Brewer up by four. On the next possession, Tyler Abell knocked down a three-pointer to close the Brewer lead to 56-55 with 1:58 to play.
Defensive pressure from Mt Blue caused a Brewer timeout and then created a loose ball tie-up, gaining possession back for the Cougars with 1:28 remaining. Out of the Mt Blue timeout, Brewer created a turnover on a steal of an errant pass by Brewer’s Steven Youngs. Youngs turned the steal into a fastbreak finish and increased the Witches lead to 58-55 with 1:11 to play.
With their next two possessions, the Cougars would go 0-for-3 on three-point attempts, while Brewer went 1-for4 on free throws attempts to leave the score at 59-55 with 0:33 remaining in the game. Carter Norton pushed the ball off the last free throw miss and buried a three-pointer to make the score 59-58 with just 0:23 to remaining.
A quick foul by Mt Blue and two made free throws by Brewer senior Jake Perry made it a 61-58 lead. Out of a timeout, the cougars Carter Norton had a three-point attempt blocked and another go wide, but the rebound went out of bounds off Brewer, setting the Cougars up with the ball and six-seconds to play. Carter Norton got a look, but his three-point attempt missed the mark. The rebound was put in for two-points and time expired, with the final score Brewer 61, Mt Blue 60.
