BANGOR, Maine — An eight-day layoff did nothing to slow the Bangor boys basketball team’s momentum.
Senior forward Matt Fleming helped make sure there was no slowdown Tuesday night, scoring 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Rams outscored Brewer 85-45 at Red Barry Gymnasium.
“I think we were all ready to stop playing against each other and start playing against someone else again,” said Fleming, who scored 15 points in each half but sat out nearly all of the fourth quarter. “We battled every day in practice, and it was a relief to be able to battle against someone else.”
Bangor, the top-ranked team in Class AA North, improved to 14-1 while securing its eighth consecutive victory.
The Rams are scheduled to host Skowhegan on Friday before a big final week of the regular season with a home game against Class A North power Hampden Academy next Tuesday before the finale at Class AA North second seed and defending state champion Edward Little of Auburn on Feb. 7.
“We definitely picked up where we left off, and we’re really excited to play Hampden and EL again to give us some good matchups to get back in the swing of things before playoffs,” said Fleming.
Brewer, battling for a tournament berth in Class A North, fell to 7-9 but remains ranked seventh in the division. The Witches have home games remaining against Camden Hills of Rockport next Tuesday and fourth seed Mt. Blue of Farmington on Feb. 7.
Bangor spotted Brewer a 5-2 lead in the game’s opening 90 seconds, then ripped off 11 unanswered points to take control of the contest en route to making the Witches its seventh opponent in the last eight games to score 50 points or less.
“We let up five points in a minute and a half and coach (Brad Libby) wasn’t happy,” said Bangor senior guard Damien Vance. “But we made sure we got into our rotations after that.
“We’ve really picked up our defense compared to last year. Our main focus is on defense.”
The Rams extended their lead to 24-9 by the end of the first quarter and 38-17 at intermission, then erupted for 31 points during the third quarter to take a commanding 69-35 advantage into the game’s final eight minutes.
“Coach made sure we stayed in shape during the whole break,” said Vance. “And I think we were just excited to get back on the court against a rival.”
Fleming shot 12 of 18 from the field overall, including three 3-pointers, one dunk and 10 points directly after grabbing offensive rebounds.
“I was definitely ready to get back out there,” he said. “The dunk was kind of weak, that was disappointing, but I was definitely trying to get on the offensive glass and finish for us because I’ve been struggling with that this year. I should crash more and I definitely crashed really well tonight and got some easy buckets.”
Junior forward Henry Westrich added 16 points for the Rams while senior guard Isaac Cummings scored 13 points and Vance had 11.
Junior forward Trevor Pearson paced Brewer with 12 points while freshman guard Aaron Newcomb added eight.
