The Brewer boys basketball team has waited two years for the chance to return to tournament play at the Augusta Civic Center after a last-second loss in the 2020 Class A North semifinals to Hampden Academy — that year’s eventual state championship.
That wait finally ended Saturday afternoon, with the second-seeded Witches showing themselves ready to contend for the regional title again with a 72-46 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 Lawrence of Fairfield.
“The biggest thing was I wanted the kids to come out and play right off the bat,” Brewer coach Ben Goodwin said. “We didn’t play in an atmosphere like this last year, but the kids came out and played to our level, so I was excited about that.”
Senior guard Aaron Newcomb buried three 3-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points, but he was one of four Witches to score in double figures as Brewer (17-2) advanced to Wednesday’s 7 p.m. semifinal against No. 3 Skowhegan, a 67-33 winner over No. 6 Mt. Blue of Farmington in Saturday’s earlier game.
Lawrence ends its season with a 7-13 record.
Junior forwards Brady Saunders and Brock Flagg added 13 points apiece for Brewer, which led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Colby Smith scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“I liked the way we were able to move the ball and find the right shot at the beginning of the game,” Saunders said. “We drew up a couple of sets and they got us open looks inside and drew the defense down to our bigs and we were able to pass it out and get open looks.”
Conner Nutting paced Lawrence with 17 points while Andrew Trombley added nine.
Brewer defeated Lawrence by an average of 33.5 points during their two regular-season meetings, and their postseason rematch produced a similar first half with the Witches moving out to a 41-25 lead.
That lead was forged on offensive balance and a defense that committed just three fouls.
Newcomb led the Brewer offense with 12 first-half points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field, while Flagg added 11 points and three assists and Smith scored nine points and dished out three assists.
The Witches broke the game open with nine unanswered points to close out the first period with a 21-8 lead.
Flagg started that run with a baseline drive, then Newcomb made a nice cut to the basket to score on a feed from Flagg to give Brewer a 16-8 edge.
Flagg then was fouled while taking a steal in for a layup, then added the free throw before Saunders scored in transition to extend the Witches’ advantage to 13 points.
By halftime, Brewer’s lead was 41-25. By the end of the third quarter it was 60-31.
“It was awesome getting back here,” Newcomb said.
