SKOWHEGAN — Maybe Lawrence was due for a let down after playing its best defensive game of the season against Bangor on Tuesday.
That letdown came in the first quarter of their Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A boys basketball game against Skowhegan on Thursday. After Aren LeBrun’s halfcourt shot at the buzzer, Skowhegan had an 11-point lead.
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That was the extent of the Bulldogs’ letdown. Lawrence scored the first 16 points of the second quarter, and aside for a 20 second stretch just before the half, never trailed again, taking a 60-49 win in the regular season finale for both teams.
Lawrence, now 12-6, moved on to the Eastern Class A tournament. Skowhegan ends the season at 3-15.
“We knew they were going to play us tough, and when you have a great player like Levi Barnes, he can keep you in games. He was on early,” Lawrence coach Mike McGee said.
Barnes scored eight of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter for Skowhegan, and LeBrun’s halfcourt heave gave the Indians a 19-8 lead.
“It was the little things. We weren’t catching the ball. Nobody was looking to score,” Lawrence guard Emmitt Faulkner said. “Everything went Skowhegan’s way in the first quarter.”
Things changed in the second quarter. The Bulldogs opened the quarter with a 16-0 run, taking the lead on a pair of Spencer Carey (19 points) free throws with 5:18 left.
“We got away from what got us there,” Skowhegan coach Dave Simpson said. “They made us play faster and sometimes, we played out of control.”
Lawrence forced seven turnovers in the second quarter, and Skowhegan committed 27 turnovers for the game.
“We got into some fullcourt stuff we haven’t done in a while,” McGee said.
A Barnes layup cut Lawrence’s lead to 50-46 with just over five minutes left in the game, but the Bulldogs closed it out with a 10-0 run.
“We had to make sure we played defense,” Faulkner, who scored 10 points, said. “We gave up 22 in the whole game at Bangor, and 19 in the first quarter to Skowhegan.”
Shaun Carroll scored 14 points for Lawrence. Taylor Bacon had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Skowhegan.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
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