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Red Eddies repel Brunswick´s upset bid

By EARL SWINSON, Special to the Press Herald Friday, January 25, 2013

BRUNSWICK — Quin Leary scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Edward Little overcame a double-digit deficit with a 21-5 run to beat Brunswick 58-54 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference boys´ basketball game Friday night.

The Dragons led 25-12 midway through the second quarter when Red Eddies Coach Mike Adams called a timeout.

"We were hurrying up too much on offense," said Adams. "It was one pass and shoot, and we weren´t getting any reversals or offensive rebounds."

Brunswick (8-6) turned the ball over three straight times after the timeout and the Eddies (13-1) took advantage, reeling off 10 straight points.

"We didn´t want to lose our momentum," said Brunswick Coach Todd Hanson, "but we wanted to shorten the game a little, and we didn´t do a good job of taking care of the ball."

Leary followed the first turnover with a smart bounce pass to Kaleb Main for a layup. Leary then hit a jumper, and Nate Alexander (13 points) made two from the line after a Leary steal.

"Coach told us to work on our outside rotation on defense and move the ball more on offense," said Leary.

A pair of Main free throws and an Alexander bucket off an offensive rebound and assist by Main made it 25-22 at halftime.

Bradford Smith opened the third quarter with a jumper for Brunswick, but Sean Ford of the Eddies scored his first points on back-to-back putbacks to make it a one-point game.

Moments later, Ford made a steal and went in for a layup that tied the game at 28-28.

"I was in foul trouble and was benched early," said Ford, who scored all 11 of his points in the third quarter. "But Quin did a good job taking out (Smith), and I was able to step it up."

Konnor Scarponi (12 points) drove the lane to put the Dragons back on top, but Leary knocked down a 3-pointer and Ford scored from underneath to give Edward Little a 33-30 lead.

It was a back-and-forth affair after that, as Blake Gordon (15 points, eight rebounds) scored off a steal and Scarponi followed with a 3-pointer to put Brunswick back on top.

"I don´t know anyone who has improved as much as Blake Gordon," said Adams. "We tried everything but couldn´t stop him.

"But we´ll take (the win). We´re not great athletes; we have to play smart and get good looks."

Lew Jensen, scoreless to that point, swished a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth as Edward Little surged ahead, 47-44. Gordon answered with a 3, but Alexander´s three-point play helped the Eddies pull away.

"We put ourselves in position to win, but we couldn´t get the big stop or big rebound when we needed it," said Hanson. "But they´re 13-1 for a reason."