Lewiston’s Dylon Jackson, left, brings the ball up the court while being defended by Mt. Ararat’s Max Spelke during the first half of Thursday night’s game in Lewiston. (Russ Dillingham / Sun Journal)
LEWISTON — Over the first three quarters of Thursday’s high school boys Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference contest, neither Mt. Ararat or Lewiston took control, with both teams often stuck in the mud offensively.
That all changed in the fourth, when the host Blue Devils rode the hot outside shooting of Evan Williams for a 56-49 victory.
Lewiston, which resides in the nightly-difficult Class AA North region, earned just its third win of the season (3-13), while the Class A South Eagles fell to 9-7 after a night of tough sledding.
Trailing 35-31 after three quarters, Williams found open space in the corner and swished a 3-pointer to get the Blue Devils going. Moments later, Williams hit again, giving Lewiston a 37-35 lead.
“We got lazy in a couple of our rotations, and they caught us kind of napping a couple of times,” said Mt. Ararat coach David Dubreuil.
“We were in it and our defense gave us a chance, and both teams loosened up in the second half and made some shots,” said Lewiston coach Tim Farrar. “The kids were great tonight and executed well.”
Throughout the contest, Lewiston concentrated on containing 6-foot-8 Mt. Ararat center Jared Balser. Blue Devil Isaiah Teague gave up eight inches on Balser, but with the help of Yasin Mohamud, Dylon Jackson and Hunter Dickinson, forced the Mt. Ararat senior into a four-point night before Balser fouled out late in regulation.
“I thought Isaiah Teague was tremendous, and nothing was inside for the big fella,” said Farrar. “(Balser) is a good player, a kid that has had a good second half for them. We don’t win this game without Isaiah Teague.”
“We all stayed together and played a decent game, and we were able to eliminate Jared Balser,” said Williams, who had 15 points, 10 coming in the fourth-quarter run. “We wanted to win. We haven’t won that many games and we came out on fire in the fourth quarter.”
“They did a great job keeping Jared just that one step out of where he wanted to be. We just never really were able to get going,” added Dubreuil.
Sloppy first
Neither team found an offensive flow in the first half. Mt. Ararat was 8-for-22 from the field, with Lewiston going 8-of-23 as the Eagles carried a 19-18 lead into the halftime break.
A standout for Mt. Ararat was James Singleton, who came off the bench to the lead the Eagles with eight first-half points, matching Lewiston’s Mohamud. Both teams had 10 turnovers through 16 minutes.
“I can’t take anything away from Lewiston. They put up a lot of ball pressure, and we just couldn’t get it going,” said Dubreuil, who felt his team was going to recover in the second half. “We have had bad halves before and we always have responded. Lewiston did a good job tonight not allowing us to respond and keeping us down.”
Both teams found a bit more offense in the third quarter. Dickinson scored four more points, with Nathan Taylor and Caleb Manuel each draining a 3-pointer as Mt. Ararat claimed a 35-31 advantage.
But Lewiston owned the fourth, hitting on 15-of-16 free throws in the frame and receiving eight more points from Mohamud, who led the Blue Devils with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“This is a big win for us,” said Williams, who talked about his team’s tough schedule. “We lost to Edward Little earlier this week, we have Oxford Hills next. It is like playing three NBA games in a short week.”
“We have played the reigning regional champions the last two games, so to have a night where you are still in the game in the fourth quarter is nice,” said Farrar. “To have the lead allowed us to play a little more relaxed. We made free throws and executed. They were patient and are starting to trust each other.”
Dickinson had 11 points, three steals and two assists for Lewiston, with Teague chipping in 10 points.
Singleton paced Mt. Ararat with 14 points, while Max Spelke and Austin Damon both finished with seven, and Taylor and J.D. Dionne with six points apiece. Damon pulled down nine rebounds, with Spelke adding six boards and three assists. Balser chipped in seven rebounds.
“We will have some good practices Friday and this weekend before our final stretch next week,” said Dubreuil, whose Eagles return to action on Tuesday at Waldoboro against Medomak Valley.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
