BRUNSWICK — The Brunswick High School boys basketball team made seven of its first 10 shots against Lawrence in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contest Tuesday night.
The hot start gave the Dragons a quick 18-10 lead, and they rolled from there to grab a 60-42 victory in a game with playoff implications.
Lawrence dropped to 5-5 while Brunswick improved to 6-4.
The Bulldogs struggled offensively in this one, particularly in a decisive third quarter. Despite forcing seven turnovers and grabbing six offensive rebounds, the Bulldogs shot a dismal 2-for-17 form the field.
“It is a hit or miss game, and we obviously were not shooting very well (Tuesday),” said Lawrence coach Jason Pellerin. “At times this season we have let misses get to us and I saw bad body language in the first half. I saw more fight in the second half, we just didn’t hit shots. We just need to get confidence and get ready for Cony.”
Kobe Nadeau paced Lawrence with 15 points.
Senior point guard Tony Cilea dished out nine assists for Brunswick.
“Lawrence is known for tenacious man-to-man defense, and Tony was able to break them down off the dribble, and when he got by his initial guy, he made things happen,” said Brunswick coach Todd Hanson. “He hit the right guy at the right time and was really dishing it tonight for easy buckets.”
“I was trying to get good looks for my teammates,” added Cilea. “We were coming off some tough losses, and this was a good team win. I am the only guard now, so it is good to be out there and lead the team with my passing.”
Brunswick jumped out to a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game as Aidan Mitchell scored four points and Noah Cox swished a long 3-pointer.
Lawrence chipped away as Adam Duprey powered his way to five first-quarter points. Down 11-5, Duprey made two free throws and Nick Robertson nailed a 3-pointer to bring the Bulldogs to 11-10.
But the Dragons ended the first quarter on another 7-0 run, with Cox scoring five of his 10 opening-quarter points for an 18-10 lead.
“I don’t think we physically challenged them enough,” Pellerin said after watching the Dragons shoot 61 percent (13-of-21) in the first half for a 31-19 halftime lead.
Lawrence cut into the Dragon lead to begin the second half, as Gavin Herrin made a free throw and Kobe Nadeau hit a short jumper for a nine-point game, 31-22.
“I didn’t think we played particularly well in the third quarter, but we withstood that advantage,” said Hanson, whose Dragons carried a 40-27 edge into the fourth quarter.
Cox paced Brunswick with a game-high 16 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and two assists, while Mitchell picked up 11 points and seven boards, and Sharpe 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Nuri Rosen chipped in seven points off the Dragon bench.
For Lawrence, Duprey added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, with Robertson finishing with nine points and three steals.
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