Brewer’s season-ending 64-53 boys basketball victory over Bangor on Thursday night left both teams headed for postseason play but from considerably different perspectives.
Brewer, picked third in the Class A North preseason coaches poll, exceeded those expectations by finishing second in the final Heal points with a 16-2 record.
A veteran lineup led by senior guards Colby Smith and Aaron Newcomb hopes its collective experience will be a pivotal factor as the Witches pursue their first regional title since 1988.
“That’s the great thing about our team, we’ve got some veteran leadership and some great kids on the bench that show a lot of maturity,” said Smith, one of three seniors on the Brewer roster. “We’re equipped for situations like this, we know what to do and how to handle things and that helps.”
That experience was pivotal in Brewer’s second win of the season over Bangor, as the visiting Rams narrowed a 22-point deficit to five points with less than three minutes left before the Witches calmly made 10 of 12 late free-throw tries to put the game away.
Junior forward Brady Saunders paced Brewer with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Newcomb added 12 points, Smith had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Brock Flagg also scored 11 points and fellow junior forward Ryder Goodwin contributed seven points and seven rebounds.
“We’re a very unselfish team, we move the ball very well,” senior guard Evan Glass said. “No one really has an ego.”
Brewer has been on the brink of a championship for the last three years, reaching the regional semifinals in 2019 and 2020 and winning the Penobscot Valley Conference Big East pod championship during last winter’s COVID-induced regionalized season.
Regular-season splits with top-ranked Nokomis of Newport and its dynamic freshman Cooper Flagg and third-ranked Skowhegan with its tall frontcourt combination of 6-foot-6 Adam Savage and 6-5 twins Kyle and Collin LePage represent the Witches’ biggest challenges in Class A North.
“I think we’re in a great spot right now,” Smith said. “Obviously we had a couple of tough losses, but the great thing about our team is we bounce back game after game. We’ve got some tough matchups with Skowhegan and Nokomis, but we’ve played them twice so we know how to play them. We’ve just got to go to work and get it done.”
Meanwhile, Bangor (6-12) has been the epitome of a tough-luck team with its 12 losses coming by an average of 7.0 points and no defeat by more than 13 points.
“It gives us confidence, honestly,” Rams coach Brad Libby said. “Our record doesn’t necessarily show the wins, but if you look back at what we’ve done and the body of work that these guys have put together in the actual games, it’s pretty impressive.”
While Bangor has dropped 11 of its last 12 games, it split two games with Class AA North-leading Edward Little of Auburn, lost by five points at No. 3 Portland and dropped a 41-40 decision at No. 2 Oxford Hills of South Paris on Wednesday during a grueling stretch with three games on consecutive nights this week against Edward Little, Oxford Hills and Brewer — teams with a combined 44-7 record.
“They fight, they believe in each other and they believe in what we’re trying to do,” Libby said. “I’m proud of them for continuing to fight.”
Bangor’s non-Class AA schedule also has been imposing with four losses coming to Class A North powers Nokomis, Brewer (twice) and Skowhegan.
“We didn’t have an easy schedule,” Libby said. “If I looked at the RPIs like they had in college, I’m sure we’d be up in the top five somewhere, but the guys don’t quit and that shows maturity and leadership and trust.”
Bangor has been led offensively by 6-foot-6 sophomore Landon Clark, whose ability to score from beyond the 3-point arc, in the mid-range, near the basket and at the free-throw line was in evidence as he scored 30 points against Edward Little on Tuesday and 23 against Brewer on Thursday.
Oxford Hills looms as Bangor’s quarterfinal opponent, with the underdog Rams comfortable in the role as the team no one wants to face to open postseason play.
“The body of work during the regular season might get you a different seeding, but now it’s back to 0-0 and we’re ready to fight to get some wins and make some noise,” Libby said.