Veteran Brewer Boys Basketball Squad Overwhelms Hampden In Tourney Rematch

A different season finds the Brewer and Hampden Academy basketball programs in different places than they were when they last squared off at the Augusta Civic Center 11 months ago. On that night Hampden escaped with a 54-52 victory in the Class A North semifinals en route to the 2020 state title — with that step along their gold-ball trail achieved only after what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer by the Witches with 2.8 seconds left negated by a timeout called just a nanosecond earlier. While Hampden has only one starter back from last year’s team this winter, Brewer graduated just one senior and the returning veterans used that lingering frustration to fuel a convincing 90-44 road victory Friday night’s rematch. Coach Ben Goodwin’s Witches made their first nine field-goal attempts — including three 3-pointers — and scored the game’s first 17 points while cruising to their second victory in as many games during this COVID-19 shortened regular season. “The game felt personal,” Brewer junior guard Colby Smith said.