South Portland big Jaren Muller and Windham deadeye Kevin Weisser went nearly shot for shot on Friday night, Muller tallying 30 to Weisser’s 32. In the end, though, the offensive contributions of Muller’s teammates – especially Jack Fiorini and Matt Pelletier – proved critical in compiling the Riots’ decisive, 76-59 win.

The homecourt victory bumps South Portland to 12-2 on the season. The Riots occupy third place in A West, just behind Falmouth at 11-3 but ahead of Deering at 10-4. The Eagles, meanwhile, slip to 9-5; the squad, in seventh, trails Bonny Eagle at 9-6 but leads Cheverus, who are 8-6.

“I think we played one really good half of basketball,” said South Portland head coach Phil Conley. “The second half, I was not pleased with our execution on both ends of the floor. But a win is a win, against a very good team who has nine wins in a tough conference.”

South Portland immediately established their dominance Friday night, and they did so as a unit. Muller opened the scoring and Pelletier followed up shortly with a three; Sam DePaolo turned a pair of pretty steals into assists – one each to Muller and Pelletier – and Fiorini added two from the line.

Though Weisser himself looked tack-sharp, with two twos and two threes in the opening minutes alone, his teammates were slower to find their groove, and the Riots emerged from the first quarter with a sizeable, 26-14 lead.

Windham warmed up a bit more in the second, though they still couldn’t keep pace with South Portland, not quite. Ryan Gorman, Greg Gledhill and Jackson Giampino all knocked down early Eagles’ baskets, but Muller and Co. continued to roll and expanded their advantage to 43-26 by the break.

The third and fourth quarters unfolded more tightly – much more tightly, in fact. The Riots opened with a Fiorini, Muller, Muller series of buckets to pry the lead open still further, 49-26, but the Eagles fought back. Weisser added, as did Giampino and Gorman; Troy Davis and Kyle Houser also drained shots.

Weisser didn’t go unchallenged through the game, not even in the second half; he’s just that good, even according to the opposition.

“Weisser’s a great player…he’s one of the better guards in the SMAA, and we had to work really hard on defending him tonight,” Conley said. “Even though he had 32 points, I thought Jack Fiorini and Kam Harper did a great job on him defensively, because he didn’t have, really, many easy looks. He’s just a great shooter and he’s going to score points.”

“Normally we do a good job of shutting down the other team’s better players,” Muller said, “but he’s just one of the better shooters in the league. He’s kind of one of Maine’s nightmares, with trying to guard him, because he’s big, shoots, athletic and can take it to the hoop and finish.”

All told, Windham outscored South Portland in the third, 14-13, while South Portland turned the tables in the fourth, outpacing the Eagles 20-19, for a numerically even second half. Had South Portland slackened their pressure, or the Eagles increased theirs, or both?

Conley blamed his boys. “I think [Windham] played just as hard in the first half as the second half; we just didn’t execute our offense in the second half like we would’ve liked to.”

And Muller accepted the blame. “Second half, we got lazy, which we shouldn’t have. First half, we were definitely clicking.”

Windham’s resurgence in the late action didn’t worry Muller, though. Despite that the Eagles even slashed the Riots’ lead to nine with just minutes remaining, “I knew we’d just keep getting inside,” he said.

And the Riots’ earlier play had given them a huge cushion; Windham needed to do much more than simply even out the scoring as time ticked away, if any sort of comeback was to be on the table. Ultimately, they showed themselves capable of playing alongside one of A West’s toughest lineups, but still suffered the defeat.

In addition to Muller’s 30, Fiorini finished with 15, Pelletier 11, and Kam Harper eight. Weisser, again, had 32, while Giampino hashed eight and Gorman seven.

Conley praised both Muller and Fiorini, and not just for their point totals, but also their rebounding and the other aspects of their game.

“I think Jaren had…eight boards, and Fiorni…11 boards. Both played well together; they pass the ball well and I thought they dominated the glass on both ends,” Conley said.

But it was undeniably a team win for South Portland, and Conley also commended his other boys: “Pelletier…gives us that nice three-point shooter on the outside, and I thought Kam Harper and Sam DePaolo had good nights at the point, in the two-spot for us, giving us those bigs-into-scoring-opportunities.

“They got our bigs in, to where they could score. This is our 12th win, and every win has been a team win.”

Muller likewise expressed satisfaction in another combination effort, and added good words about some of the squad’s fresher faces: “Kam was on varsity last year, and that helped him a lot; now he comes in calm and ready to play. Same with Sam. It’s been helping…Jack and I get the open looks we can get; with Pelletier hitting threes today, Jordin [Jackson] hit one, Sam and Kam both hit one; it just opens it up for us enormously.”

South Portland was slated to travel to Gorham (No. 5 at 10-4) on Tuesday, the 27th, but that game has been postponed to Wednesday at the same time. The Eagles will also visit Gorham this week, but not until Friday.

Jack Fiorini finished with 15 points for South Portland against visiting Windham on Friday night.Max Baker looks to inbounds the ball in the Riots’ 76-59 victory over Windham.South Portland’s Jaren Muller tries to split a pair of Eagles en route to the basket.Troy Davis releases a jumper for the Eagles at South Portland Friday night.Jaren Muller looms over Windham’s Kyle Kilfoil in South Portland Friday night.On his way to a game-high 32 points, Eagle Kevin Weisser breaks away from South Portlander Jack Fiorini (13) and gets some air over Fiorini’s fellow Riot, Jaren Muller.South Portlanders Jordin Jackson, left, and Matt Pelletier, right, double-team Windham’s Kyle Houser on his way to the basket Friday night.

Copy the Story Link