BANGOR, Maine — The basketball artistry may have been lacking at times — certainly not uncommon for the first game of a new schoolboy basketball season.
But few could deny the competitive level apparent on Friday night as Bangor outlasted Lewiston 36-32 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A clash at Red Barry Gymnasium.
Bangor managed just two points on 1-of-9 shooting during the first quarter, but the Rams remained aggressive on the defensive end until their offense capitalized on a sufficient number of opportunities to outscore the Blue Devils 34-20 over the final three periods.
“I was very pleased with the way we continued to compete,” Bangor coach Ed Kohtala said. “I knew we had a number of guys seeing their first varsity action so I expected we might struggle to score.
“But even when we were stuck on two points — which seemed like forever — we continued to compete.”
Senior guard Andrew Hillier led Bangor offensively with 10 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second quarter that quickly drew the Rams within 14-10 and set the stage for a tightly contested remainder of the contest.
Dane Johnson came off the bench to add nine points, while Justin Smith — Bangor’s lone returning starter — finished with seven points and a game-high 12 rebounds, 10 during the second half while working at times against 6-foot-10 Lewiston center Trever Irish.
“Last year he was an extra piece that we plugged to do different things, but he’s very skilled, he can shoot the ball, and now it’s a very different role for him,” Kohtala said of Smith, a junior forward.
“I challenged him before the game and at halftime, and I was really proud of the way he responded in the second half I think he’s got a chance to be a tremendous player.”
Isaiah Harris and Quintarian Brown, two of 10 seniors on the Lewiston roster, each finished with a team-high 10 points.
Lewiston’s lead was 19-15 at intermission, and the margin might have been greater except that while the Blue Devils generated plenty of close-range and mid-range shots early in the contest, few went uncontested.
“I think we probably should have been up more, but they had shots that they missed, too, that were good shots,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “I think we had chances throughout the game, but it’s first-game jitters and they played good defense.”
Irish scored from the lane to open the second half and Harris followed with a free throw to extend Lewiston’s lead to 22-15, but 3-pointers by Smith and Hillier led to a fast-break layup by Smith off one of Ethan Dorman’s five assists that gave Bangor its first lead at 23-22 with 4:08 left in the third quarter.
After a floater from the lane by Ace Curry rallied Lewiston to a 24-24 tie, Bangor took the lead for good as Johnson scored on an offensive rebound and then hit a layup from the baseline before Brown beat the buzzer with a 15-footer to bring the Blue Devils within 28-26.
Two big defensive plays helped preserve Bangor’s lead midway through the fourth quarter, as blocked shots by Smith and Johnson thwarted two fast breaks that would have restored Lewiston to the lead.
“I thought we battled,” Farrar said. “When they took the lead I thought, ‘Here we go,’ but we had a couple of chances at the end.”
Johnson stretched out the lead ever so slightly with a fast-break layup, and while Lewiston managed just a follow-up basket by Harris over the final 4:01 of play, Bangor went 3-of-6 from the line to preserve its victory.
“I thought Lewiston played very, very hard. We got a couple of bounces at the end and made a couple of free throws late,” Kohtala said. “Thank goodness.”
