Brewer sharpshooter Brian Colman scored 20 points in the first half of the Witches’ Big East game against visiting Hampden Academy on Wednesday evening.

But Brewer proved that it has some other weapons in its arsenal as Colman was held scoreless in the second half.

Jared Seavey and Jon Thomas combined for 15 second-half points to spark the Witches to a 69-62 win over previously undefeated Hampden.

“The guys showed that they can play without me,” said Colman, who was held to only one shot in the second half, but contributed some good passes, key rebounds, and a good defensive effort. “We’ve got real good depth this year. I’m not the only one who can score.”

The Brewer bench, led by Thomas’ 13 points, outscored Hampden’s bench 17-2.

“This was definitely our best game of the year,” said junior swing man Seavey, who finished with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. He had eight second-half points for 3-2 Brewer.

Hampden senior forward-center Jon Kunz led all scorers with 27 points, including 19 in the second half. He also had a game-high 13 rebounds, four steals, and three assists. Jack Kelly had 13 points and Craig McBean scored nine for the 3-1 Broncos.

Brewer took the lead for good with a 16-10 run at the end of the first half that turned a 23-23 tie into a 39-33 lead. Colman and Seavey had seven points apiece during the run. Colman ended the half by canning a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key as time expired.

Hampden pulled to within two in the low-scoring third quarter, but Brewer re-established a five-point lead when Thomas hauled in a Chris Horr airball and laid it in at the buzzer.

Brewer continually forced turnovers with its trapping full court press and aggressive man-to-man defense. Offensively, the Witches made quick, sharp passes that usually led to high-percentage shots around the paint.

“They play the same (man-to-man) defense we do, so we know how to beat it,” said Thomas.

Seavey explained that they were able to set effective screens and convert “off our backdoor passes.”

“Our guards have great court sight,” said Mike Oxley, who had five important second-half points and also finished with five rebounds for the game. “Another key was that we finally did a good job blocking out under the boards.”

Brewer outrebounded Hampden 25-22.

Brewer rattled off a 9-2 spurt in the final period to build a 55-45 lead with 6:07 left. Seavey had six of the points with a 5-foot jumper off a Colman pass; a driving, down-the-middle lefthanded layup, and two free throws.

Kunz scored all 10 Hampden points during a 10-4 spurt that pulled the Broncos within 61-57 with 2:28 left.

A Thomas free throw followed by a layup by HA’s Kelly made it 62-59 with 1:30 left.

Kunz and McBean missed potential game-tying 3-pointers, and two free throws by Oxley with 46 seconds left, an inbounds violation by Hampden, and two Horr foul shots two seconds later sewed it up.

“Brewer is scrappy. They played hard and deserved to win,” said Hampden Coach Earl Anderson. “We didn’t take care of the basketball tonight.”

“Brewer played a great game. Their pressure killed us,” said Kunz.

Witches 69, Broncos 62

Hampden Brewer

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Bartlett 6 3 0 0 7 Dore 5 2 4 3 7

Kelly 9 6 2 1 13 Horr 3 0 5 3 3

Kunz 21 11 1 1 27 Seavey 10 7 4 3 17

McBean 11 4 1 1 9 Oxley 5 1 4 3 5

Harris 4 2 0 0 4 Colman 8 5 7 7 20

Carson 4 1 0 0 2 Thomas 9 6 2 1 13

Peppard 0 0 2 0 0 Leavitt 2 2 2 0 4

McQuilken 1 0 0 0 0 Prill 0 0 1 0 0

Leonard 1 0 0 0 0 Leighton 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 57 27 6 3 62 Totals 42 23 29 20 69

Hampden 19 33 43 62

Brewer 17 39 48 69

3-pt. goals: Hampden (5-13): Kunz 4-7, Bartlett 1-3, McBean 0-2, Leonard 0-1; Brewer (3-8): Colman 3-3, Seavey 0-3, Horr 0-1, Dore 0-1