AUGUSTA- Cam Hughes hit a layup with just 2.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Friday night, propelling the Brewer Witches over the Falmouth Navigators 42-41 in the Boys Class A State Championship game played at the Augusta Civic Center.
Brewer led the entire first half. They would end the first quarter on a 8-0 run sparked by a three-pointer by Evan Nadeau, a Hughes basket, and another three-pointer by Brady Saunders for a 15-5 advantage after eight minutes. The lead was 19-9 in the second, and that is when Falmouth tightened up the defense and made a run of their own to cut into the deficit. A 9-0 spurt on baskets from Judd Armstrong and Lucas Dilworth, and a three-pointer by Armstrong made it 19-18. Nadeau hit a pair of late free throws to give the Witches a slim 21-18 halftime lead. The Navigators took their first lead of the night early in the third quarter and held it until almost the last play of the game, as a three-pointer by Paul Dilworth and a bucket from Lucas Dilworth pushed them ahead 23-21. They led by seven 32-25 when Paul Dilworth knocked in another three-pointer. A technical foul against Falmouth senior forward Eli Cowperthwaite after the third period buzzer sounded allowed Saunders to hit the two technical free throws for Brewer to cut it to 35-31 heading into the fourth. Saunders would tie it with a jumper at 36-36, before Paul Dilworth hit 2-2 from the foul line to put Falmouth back in front. He would then have a chance to extend it, but missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with just over 2:00 remaining. After a Saunders miss on the other end, he redeemed himself by sinking two more free throws to make it 40-36 Navigators. Ryder Goodwin made 2-2 from the line for the Witches with 1:04 left, before Lucas Dilworth scored the last point for Falmouth with 1-2 from the charity stripe with 50.7 seconds to play that made it 41-38. Brewer got a layup from Goodwin with just over 20 seconds on the clock, and then would foul Paul Dilworth a few seconds later to send him to the line. Dilworth missed both free throws, and Goodwin grabbed the rebound. Hughes got open and was on the other end of a quick feed from Brock Flagg who had it near the foul line, laying it in off the glass at the left block for the game winner for the Witches with just under three seconds to go. Armstrong had one more look for the win for Falmouth, but the shot fell short as time expired.
Goodwin and Flagg both had 11 points to lead Brewer to the victory, in winning their first ever boys basketball gold ball in just their third appearance in school history in a state final (last-1988). Flagg added eight rebounds. Also scoring was Saunders with nine points, Nadeau with five, Hughes with four, and Steven Youngs had two points. The Witches, who had just one loss in the regular season to Skowhegan who they would beat by 37 in the North Regional Final, end up with a record of 21-1. Paul Dilworth led Falmouth in the loss with 15 points (three 3-pointers), while his brother Lucas Dilworth had 14 points and six rebounds. Armstrong added seven points, Cowperthwaite and Peyton Mitchell each had two points, and Henry Stowell added a free throw for one point. The Navigators, who lost to Nokomis in last years final, were seeking their ninth state title overall between Classes A, B, and C (last title-Class A 2016 over Oceanside). They end this run with a record at 17-5.
Recap and Videos by Chris Lessner/Photos by Lisa Prescott
