AUGUSTA — He may be only a freshman, but Oli Higgins isn’t about to relax after a stellar postseason debut.
Brewer’s 6-foot-7 forward scored 20 points as the third-seeded Witches held off a determined No. 6 Mt. Blue, 61-60, in a Class A North boys basketball quarterfinal Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
The Witches (16-3) will face No. 2 Hampden Academy =in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Civic Center.
“It was a dogfight, but I’m glad we finally came out with the win,” said Higgins, whose team led by eight points midway through the fourth but was up by only one until teammate Steven Youngs’ steal-and-dunk with just over minute left. “I’m really happy with the win right now, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Brewer coach Carl Parker noted Higgins’ strong play on both sides of the ball.
“I thought our freshman played extremely well,” Parker said. “Oli’s our best defensive rebounder. Inside, a lot of times, he just discourages shots, not necessarily because he blocks all of them, but because of his presence. He’s 6-7 and has a long reach, so they have to shoot over him.”
Forced to go outside, Mt. Blue connected on six 3-pointers in the first half but hit only two the rest of the way.
Charlie Brydges added 14 points for Brewer, including a trio of 3-pointers.
yler Abell scored 21 points for Mt. Blue (12-7) before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Brewer defeated Mt. Blue for the second time this season. The Witches prevailed 35-32 in the regular-season meeting on Jan. 2.
How Brewer did it
The Witches trailed for most of the game until the third quarter, when Brydges drained a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. Teammate Owen Fullerton, whose dynamic passing set up many of Brewer’s baskets, heaved a pass across the base of the 3-point arc to a wide-open Brydges. The Witches never trailed again.
After Mt. Blue’s Abell scored 10 first-quarter points, Brewer held him to 11 over the final three quarters.
Foul frenzy
Both teams dealt with foul trouble, as a total of 40 fouls were called. Abell and fellow sharp-shooter Nolan Leso fouled out in the fourth quarter. Brewer’s Fullerton and Youngs (five points, all in the fourth quarter) played with four fouls apiece in the fourth.
“Foul trouble hurt us to some degree in regards to our flow,” Parker said. “Fortunately, we have versatile defenders, so we were able to switch guys.”
The key play
Down 55-49 with 3:15 left, Mt. Blue switched to a full-court press and cut the deficit to 56-55 after Abell and Carter Norton converted turnovers into 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Fullerton free throw.
But with 1:11 left, Brewer’s Youngs stole the ball in the lane and went coast-to-coast for a dunk. Mt. Blue’s Norton scored five more points, including a 2-pointer at the buzzer, but Brewer held on.
Statistical leaders
Brewer: Oli Higgins (20 points), Charlie Brydges (14 points).
Mt. Blue: Tyler Abell (21 points), Nolan Leso (14 points), Carter Norton (12 points), Cam Norton (six rebounds).
They said it
“I felt a lot better than I did before (Youngs) made the steal and the dunk.” — Carl Parker
“It’s crazy. There’s nothing like it, it’s unbelievable. I just feel so excited to play, it’s so fun out there.” Oli Higgins, on his tournament debut
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