No. 5 Brewer takes down No. 4 Messalonskee to advance to semifinal

AUGUSTA – The Brewer boys basketball team made the trip to the Augusta Civic Center Saturday night to take on Messalonskee of Oakland in a quarterfinal matchup that was Brewer's game all the way to the 63-47 win.

Brewer's Trevor Pearson, right, drives the baseline past Messalonskee's Noah Wood (33) and Jacob Perry as Brewer's Aaron Newcomb looks on. Brewer won this quarterfinal 63-47. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

Brewer came out strong and stayed strong till the very end. Offensively they had nine three's, all coming at a time when the Eagles were about to gain a little momentum, and that along with some very strong work on the boards from Trevor Pearson, including some offensive rebounds that led to his team-high 18 points.

Click here to view the full Photo Gallery from this game.

In the first meeting of these two teams this season, Messalonskee won by two points. The second meeting at Brewer was a 12-point win for the Witches. The Eagles finished the season at 11-7.

Brewer's Colby Smith (center) drives to the hoop through two Messalonskee defenders, Mason Violette (0) and Nicholas Woodside. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

Scoring for the Witches was, Pearson with 18 points; Dylan Huff 17; Brady Saunders 10; Aaron Newcomb seven; Colby Smith six; Kyle Goodrich three; and Brock Flagg two.

Brewer was 12-of-15 (80 percent) from the foul line. The nine 3-pointers came from Huff and Saunders with three each, Newcomb with two, and Goodrich with one.

Brewer's Aaron Newcomb makes a no-look pass as he drives the lane. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

For Messalonskee, Tucker Charles had 18 points to lead the team; Matt Parent 13; Jacob Perry seven; Cole St. Peter three; and Mason Violette, Parker Cole, and Noah Wood two each.

The Eagles were 16-of-25 (64 percent from the charity stripe. They had three 3-pointers, one each from Charles, M. Parent, and St. Peter.

Brewer will next take on No. 1 Hampden Academy on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. The two teams played each other twice during the season with the Broncos winning both.

Brewer---------16---17---14---16---63
Messalonskee-10---11---14---12---47

Brewer's Dylan Huff buries one of his three 3-pointers in the game. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

Brewer freshman Brady Saunders looks things over as he advances the ball. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)

Coach Ben Goodwin watches as the subs take the floor and the veterans come out of the game. (Photo by Ron Hawkes)