Neither team scored many points in the first three quarters and neither team played particularly well during that time, but the Bonny Eagle boys managed to put together a decent stretch of basketball over the game’s final eight minutes to secure a 39-34 win against visiting Westbrook on Tuesday night.
“We have great character on this team. These kids are winners,” said Bonny Eagle coach Rick Simonds. “If you believe you’re going to win, a lot of times you win.”
“I thought Bonny Eagle’s defense in the fourth quarter – and really the whole game – played well,” said Westbrook coach Mark Karter. “We did a lot of standing around on offense, and were not able to get any real good looks at the basket (down the stretch).”
Westbrook jumped out to an 11-7 lead after the first quarter. The Blazes’ Kyle Sanborn had six points of those early points and Dominic Borelli had the other five. Bonny Eagle stayed close behind five points from Lincoln Sanborn.
The combination of some tough in-your-face defense and some untimely turnovers kept both teams from getting into any offensive rhythm and the squads went into halftime with the Blazes holding on to an 18-14 lead.
It was more of the same after the break with Westbrook’s Josh Harriman getting a basket and a free throw and teammate Christian Hamilton making a steal and converting a layup for all of the Blazes points in the third.
Bonny Eagle countered with a pair of baskets from Brian Butler along with scores from John Onesti. The Scots pulled even with the Blazes and the teams went to the final period deadlocked at 23-23.
“I thought we played very mediocre basketball,” Simonds said about the Scots’ play in the game’s first 24 minutes. “At the end of three quarters, I said to them ‘We haven’t played worth a darn and we’re tied. This is our ballgame.'”
The Scots responded to take a 31-25 lead on a three-point play from Nate Doehler and two baskets from Onesti. Westbrook’s Kyle Sanborn answered with a three-point play of his own and Bonny Eagle led 31-28 with 3:45 to play.
Bonny Eagle then took the air out of the ball a bit and patiently passed around the perimeter until Westbrook fouled Lincoln Sanborn. The Scots’ playmaker calmly swished both free throws to push the lead back up to five.
With under a minute to play, Kyle Sanborn of Westbrook powered his way inside for a basket and then rebounded a missed foul shot at the other end of the floor. Borelli was fouled underneath and the Westbrook sophomore made two free throws to get the Blazes within 33-32 with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
Westbrook was forced to foul the rest of the way and Lincoln Sanborn went 5-of-6 from the line in the last half-minute of play to ice the game for the Scots. He found the ball in his hands a lot in the late going and he seemed to always be in the right place at the right time down the stretch.
“He’s had a very good season,” Simonds said about his sophomore guard. “And if you look at the big games we’ve had, he’s played well. When he plays well we play well.”
“They rebounded the ball well and they made clutch free throws,” Karter said about Bonny Eagle’s fourth quarter play.
The Blazes entered the game with a 6-4 record and ranked sixth in the most recent Heal Point standings while the Scots started the week at 5-5 and right behind the Blazes at No. 7 in the West A standings. Both squads are now 6-5 as they battle for playoff position in the second half of the regular season.
Westbrook hosts Kennebunk on Friday evening. Bonny Eagle travels to South Portland on Friday.
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