BANGOR – It may not be exactly what coach Tom Tennett and the Bangor High girls basketball team want, but the Rams have made a living this season on their ability to rally.

Sometimes, the deficit is too much to handle.

Other times, as in Tuesday night’s game against cross-river rival Brewer, it’s workable.

Four days after a comeback at Mt. Blue of Farmington fell short, Bangor rallied in the fourth quarter for a 49-45 victory over the Witches at Red Barry Gymnasium.

“We always talk about how we need to come out strong and it seems like there’s a handful of games where we haven’t,” said Bangor’s Emily Heath, a senior captain who made three late free throws to help seal the win. “We always seem to fight back but we need to work on starting strong.”

The Rams, now 5-5, were down by as many as 11 points at the beginning of the second quarter. They cut the deficit to six points midway through the third and two at the start of the fourth quarter when Amy Hackett (12 points) scored eight seconds into the period.

Bangor, which led early in the game, took over again when Amy Wadleigh scored on a fast-break basket after guard Brooke Hackett grabbed a defensive rebound with 4:57 left in the fourth quarter.

Brewer’s Elizabeth Cote (21 points) eventually gained a 41-39 lead for the Witches after she scored two straight baskets, but the Rams rallied again. Tawnya Godinez banked in a jumper to tie it again with about two minutes left and Brooke Hackett hit a free throw after she drew a foul on a fast-break attempt for a 42-41 lead.

About 16 seconds later Hackett’s defense helped create a Brewer turnover, and she scored off a pass from Godinez.

“It seemed like that seemed to spark us,” Brooke Hackett said. “That’s what we were looking for, one big play to spark us.”

The Witches regained possession but Amy Hackett stole the ball with about one minute remaining and Brewer was forced to foul.

“We missed a few box-outs at the end and we turned it over a couple of times when we couldn’t afford to,” Brewer coach Andy Nickerson said. “Our kids played well, just not well enough to beat a good team. … You’ve got to credit [Bangor]. They know how to win and they want to win.”

Bangor struggled offensively in the first half against Brewer’s 2-3 zone defense but went 11-for-21 after halftime.

“As the game went on we were able to make more cuts against the zone,” Heath said. “We worked the ball inside-out and that worked well.”

Another key to the second-half rally was Bangor’s switch to a man-to-man defense from a 1-3-1 zone. The Rams forced 10 Brewer turnovers after halftime and were finally able to score in transition.

“The kids wanted to go to man-to-man and I think that made a difference,” Tennett said.

Bangor’s zone did help limit Brewer’s taller forwards, Katie Kenney and Jordan McLain, to a combined nine points.

The Rams’ bench had a big night, with Allie Clukey adding 10 points and Brooke Hackett scoring six.

“I don’t know, I think they have a tremendous capacity to come back, but it takes so much effort,” Tennett said. “We got some tremendous contributions from our bench.”

Brewer games are always a bit stressful for Tennett, who coached Nickerson years ago at the junior varsity level. The two speak three to four times a week, Tennett said.

“I’m just glad to get it over with,” he said with a smile.

RAMS 49, WITCHES 45

Brewer (4-5) Bangor (5-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Cote 8 16 4 5 21 B.Hackett 2 5 6

Valley 2 7 0 1 4 Dana 1 4 2

Jackson 2 5 0 1 4 Heath 0 3 3

M. McLain 2 11 3 3 7 A.Hackett 5 12 2 4 12

Seymour 0 0 0 0 0 Smith 0 4 1

J. McLain 1 3 1 2 3 Hartley 0 0 0

Kenney 3 6 0 0 6 Wadleigh 3 8

Clukey 3 9 2 10

Comstock 0 0 0

Godinez 3 6 0 7

Totals 18 48 8 12 45 Totals 17 49 12 20 49

Brewer 11 20 33 45

Bangor 5 15 29 49

3-pt. goals – Brewer (1-13): Cote 1-3, Valley 0-1, M. McLain 0-9; Bangor (3-11): Clukey 2-6, Godinez 1-2, Heath 0-3

JV: Bangor 40-38

Attendance: 400 (est.)