BREWER – After his Nokomis Warriors had put on a 59-percent shooting exhibition in the first half of Saturday afternoon’s game – and still clung tenuously to a slim two-point cushion – coach Jim DiFrederico told his team to have a seat.

But not the way you think.

“[Trenton Estes and Ryan McLellan] can really sit down and get after it when they really decide to not get back on their heels,” DiFrederico said after his team had knocked off previously undefeated Brewer 58-47.

In coach-speak, “sitting down” means assuming the classic, butt-down, legs-churning pose that all great defenders end up in … when they get good and serious, that is.

In the second half, the Warriors of Newport got serious, sat down, and blew the game open.

The Warriors guards met the Witches at midcourt and hounded them unmercifully. The result: the Witches made just five field goals after intermission and were limited to a chilly 20.8 percent success rate from the floor.

Brewer drops to 5-1 while Nokomis improves to 3-2.

“Pressure’s deceit,” Brewer coach Mark Reed said. “That’s all it is. They can’t physically do anything to make you throw the ball away, besides apply – mentally –

some pressure that makes you do things you don’t want to do.”

And after taking a 29-27 lead into the locker room at halftime, that’s exactly what the Warriors did.

Nokomis reeled off the first six points of the second half and held Brewer to just two field goals in the third quarter while piling up a 44-34 lead.

Nokomis scored the first six points of the fourth period and the Witches never got closer than 11 after that. The bulge peaked at 17 (56-39) when Estes made one of two free throws with 2:01 to play in the fourth.

McLellan finished with 19 points while backcourt mate Estes had 11 to go with four steals and five assists.

McLellan said the play of Estes set the tone.

“Trent did a real good job pressuring the ball the whole length of the floor,” McLellan said. “He’s done that all year long. He’s one of the quickest kids I know.”

While Estes and McLellan were creating havoc on the perimeter, the Warriors got a breakout performance from 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior Luke Hayden. Hayden scored 17, including 10 in the first quarter.

Hayden said sub-par efforts in losses to Presque Isle and Bucksport inspired him.

“[The game against Bucksport] was probably the worst game I’ve ever played,” Hayden said. “I had a lot to prove, between that and Presque Isle.”

Another reason for the Nokomis second-half surge was its rebounding effort. After being dominated on the boards in the first half, 17-7, the Warriors won the battle of the glass 17-11 in the second.

“We knew that [Brewer] just pounded the boards,” DiFrederico said. “And we knew we needed to outrebound them to have a shot at winning this game.”

Brewer was led by senior forward Lon Drillen, who scored 17 points, and junior perimeter threat Jon Bell, who added 15. J.T. Breindel grabbed nine rebounds.

WARRIORS 58, WITCHES 47

Nokomis (3-2) Brewer (5-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

R. McLellan 8 14 2 2 19 Bernier 0 0 0

Estes 4 11 3 4 11 Bzn-Kaloustian 1 5

Bradstreet 0 0 0 0 0 J. Bell 6 14 15

Veazie 1 1 0 0 3 Drillen 7 13 17

Buzanoski 0 0 0 0 0 Breindel 1 3

Hayden 8 11 1 3 17 Gomm 1 1 2

Martin 0 1 0 0 0 Sargent 1 10 5

J. McLellan 3 3 2 4 8

Mullis 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 24 42 8 13 58 Totals 17 49 11 47

Nokomis 16 31 44 58

Brewer 15 29 34 47

3-pt. goals: Nokomis (2-6): R. McLellan 1-2, Estes 0-2, Veazie 1-1, Martin 0-1; Brewer (5-19): Sargent 1-5, Bouzan-Kaloustian 1-5, J. Bell 3-8, Drillen 0-1

Attendance: 600 (est.)

Preliminary: Brewer JV 62-53