AUGUSTA — Shooting droughts such as the one that blindsided Cony during the second and third quarters of Monday’s Eastern A quarterfinal against Lewiston are not easily explained.

Coupled with a seemingly endless deluge from one Lewiston shooter after another at the other end of the floor, they’re not only baffling but impossibly frustrating.

Additional Images

Lewiston High School’s Trevor Irish looks down at Cony High School’s Tyler Carrier before committing a foul in the second half of the Blue Devils’ 89-51 win over the Rams in an Eastern Maine Class A quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center on Monday. Photo by Jeff Pouland

Cony High School’s Liam Stokes puts up a shot over Lewiston’s Ryan Bell as William Curry (3) looks on during the first half of an Eastern A quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center on Monday. Cony lost 89-51. Photo by Jeff Pouland

Cony High School’s Keith Briggs (22) and Matthew Murray put pressure on Lewiston’s Isaiah Harriss (33) during the first half of an Eastern A quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center on Monday. Cony lost 89-51. Photo by Jeff Pouland

Fourth-seeded Lewiston took advantage of Cony’s cold shooting and exploded for 30 points in the second quarter that sparked an 89-50 route of No. 5 Cony at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Blue Devils (12-7) will face rival and top seed Edward Little in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Rams finished 11-8.

Senior guard Ryan Bell led the barrage with five 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 16 points. Ace Curry and Trevor Irish chipped in with 13 apiece as the Devils shot 55 percent from the floor.

Liam Stokes and T.J. Cusick each had 12 points to lead Cony, which shot 25 percent from the field, including 3-for-25 (12 percent) in the middle quarters.

“We didn’t make shots and they did. They made five 3s in the first half, and I bet they didn’t make five 3s in the two games we’d played against them,” said Cony coach T.J. Maines, whose team lost twice to Lewiston by a combined 10 points during the regular season.

The game had been postponed from Saturday night due to a forecasted snowstorm, but Cony didn’t seem to be affected, making five of 10 shots in the first quarter. Lewiston emerged from the quarter with a 17-16 lead but had three key frontcourt players — Irish, Isaiah Harris and Quintarian Brown — nursing two personal fouls.

The Blue Devils’ backcourt and bench made sure it didn’t matter with a 13-2 run. Curry hit a foul-line jumper and Bell knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 30-20 with a little over five minutes left in the first half and Cony never came within single digits again.

“My teammates were driving in and kicking it out (for 3-pointers). That’s what we’re about,” Bell said.

With the 6-foot-10 Irish (nine rebounds), Tykeem Gaines (nine points, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Dillingham (five points off the bench) controlling the boards, the Devils were able to get second-chance points, as well as keep Cony from running and getting out on their own fast break.

“That’s a tough matchup size-wise for them. We’ve done that all year,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “I’m just real proud of these kids. They’ve had a great season and winning on this floor is special.”

Stokes’ drive with 1:36 left in the half pulled Cony within 11 and was the Rams’ first field goal in more than five minutes. But Lewiston closed the half with an 8-0 run capped by Abdinassir Issack, who had just checked into the game for the first time, with a corner 3-pointer that made it 47-28.

“I told Abdinassir the other day, ‘You might get two minutes but you’d better shoot it when you get in there, buddy. And he did,” Farrar said.

“There was no flow to the game,” Maines added. “We were at the free throw line every two seconds. There were 36 foul shots in the first half. I thought our guys tried to play through it and then in the last two minutes of the second quarter it went from 10 to 19 really quick, and that was huge.”

The Rams’ shooting woes continued into the second half as they missed their first seven shots while the Blue Devils went on an 11-3 run to put the game out of reach.

Cony shot 2-for-14 from 3-point territory. Lewiston was 9-for-23.

“You live by the three, you die by the three, as you could see,” Curry said. “We just capitalized on their missed shots.”

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33

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