BREWER – It is no surprise that Brewer High boys basketball coach Mark Reed, like his father – Bangor coach Roger Reed – places tremendous emphasis on playing tenacious man-to-man defense.

So, even though the Rams arrived here Tuesday night with considerably more offensive talent, size and depth than the Witches, it was still a struggle.

Junior swing player Mark Socoby scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the second half and played tight defense on Brewer sharpshooter Chris Wilson as Bangor closed out the Class A regular season with a 52-38 victory over Brewer.

The 17-1 Rams, who have won 13 straight, beat the Witches (9-9) three times this season.

Despite shooting 48 percent from the floor and outrebounding Brewer 34-19, Bangor couldn’t build a significant lead until the fourth quarter against the scrappy Witches.

“They’re a good team,” Socoby said of Brewer. “They’re really well-coached. They stay disciplined in their offense and they play really good defense, so it’s always hard to get by a team like that.”

The Rams also played tight man-to-man, limiting the Witches to 33 percent floor shooting, including a 4-for-17 effort by Wilson.

Socoby also grabbed eight rebounds, blocked two shots and made a steal for the Rams. Sophomore forward Alex Gallant connected for 14 key points, while senior point guard Jordan Heath finished with nine points and four assists.

Andrew Trundy added six points and four rebounds while Aaron Gallant had five points and five rebounds against Wilson’s tenacious defense.

“We tried to exploit our size, but they play awfully good defense, too,” Roger Reed said. “They fight you every minute.”

Wilson paced Brewer with 12 points and five assists, Ben Davis netted 10 points and Drew Francis posted nine points and five rebounds.

Bangor led 35-29 after three quarters, then made its move early in the fourth. Sam Chase hit a short shot from the baseline, Socoby made a pull-up jumper in the paint off his steal and Alex Gallant swished a 17-footer off a Chase steal to give the visitors a 41-29 advantage with 6:29 remaining.

“We just worked the ball and set good screens and, hopefully, once you work the ball around, the gaps open up and you can take some good shots,” Socoby said.

The Rams took the lead for good with an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter. Alex Gallant made two free throws, Socoby floated in a seven-footer from the lane, Alex Gallant scored off a high-low feed from Trundy and Heath banked in an eight-footer to turn a 15-14 deficit into a 22-15 lead at the 1:23 mark.

Davis scored five straight points to help Brewer get back within 33-29 late in the third, but the hosts struggled offensively in the final period.

“We just have a very narrow margin for error,” Mark Reed said. “[The Rams] do a very good job of getting to isolations for different players and it doesn’t have to be the same player every time down the floor.”

RAMS 52, WITCHES 38

Bangor (17-1) Brewer (9-9)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Heath 3 7 1 2 9 Wilson 4 17 12

Aa. Gallant 2 7 1 1 5 Davis 4 6 10

Socoby 6 12 4 4 16 Bell 0 9 0

Al. Gallant 5 9 4 6 14 MacDonald 2 7

Trundy 3 5 0 0 6 Francis 4 8 9

Chase 1 1 0 0 2 Hardy 0 0 0

Mead 0 1 0 0 0 Macomber 0 0 0

Jellison 0 0 0 1 0 Babin 0 0 0

DeRosa 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 20 42 10 14 52 Totals 14 42 38

Bangor 10 24 35 52

Brewer 7 17 29 38

3-pt. goals – Bangor (2-9): Heath 2-5, Aa. Gallant 0-2, Socoby 0-2; Brewer (5-17): Wilson 2-10, Davis 2-2, Bell 0-4, MacDonald 1-1

JV: Bangor 57-45

Attendance: 550 (est.)