View 13 photos

AUBURN — Rivals Edward Little and Lewiston met Friday for what was a rivalry showdown and a likely playoff preview.

The Red Eddies owned the fourth quarter to beat the Blue Devils, 46-36, in the regular-season finale. Edward Little is the likely fourth seed and Lewiston the fifth seed, which would set up a Class AA North boys basketball quarterfinal next week, again in Auburn.

“Man, we’re ready,” Edward Little’s Diing Maiwen said. “We’ve been ready. We’ve been working our (butts) off, so if we see them again, we’re not too worried. We’re going to execute the same way we did tonight.”

The Blue Devils (8-10) won the teams’ first regular season meeting, 48-46, on Jan. 14, but since then the Red Eddies (10-8) have won five of six games.

How did Edward Little win?

• The Maiwen brothers. Diing, a senior, finished with 21 points, while Akol, a junior, had nine points. The younger Maiwen brother got the Red Eddies going early, scoring the team’s first seven points.

“I think it was I was getting good touches from my teammates, but I also had that fight where it’s like, ‘We’re not losing this game no matter what,'” Akol Maiwen said. “And, you know, it just gave me that extra spark.”

• Diing Maiwen scored only four points in the first half, but took control in the second half with 17 points, including a pair of crowd-pleasing dunks.

• Neither team led by more than six points during the first three-and-a-half quarters, but foul trouble hit the Blue Devils in the second half.

They said it

• “We just didn’t have a good flow offensively. It hasn’t been our strong suit this year at all. But we have gotten better, so, I mean, we just didn’t have a good enough flow and good movement on offense like we should have.” — Lewiston coach Elgin Physic

• “Yeah, I think also it was adjusting, and we had a rough time in the first half. But going into the locker room and talking about those things and seeing how we can get better throughout the game and come out with a win.” — Akol Maiwen

• “The lob — I’ve had that lob a couple of times, so it’s nothing new, but getting that putback dunk, the first putback dunk I had of the season, I think it was a big energy booster for us. I was really happy with that one.” — Diing Maiwen, discussing his two dunks

Statistical leaders

• Edward Little: Diing Maiwen (21 points), Akol Maiwen (nine points), Cedric Makelele (seven points).

• Lewiston: Abdirahman Dakane (16 points), Adam Zeininger (10 points).

Up next

• Lewiston: AA North quarterfinals, likely at Edward Little.

• Edward Little: AA North quarterfinals, likely vs. Lewiston.