SOUTH PARIS — Griffin Foley tweaked his ankle in the second quarter in a game Tuesday and missed the rest of the game. He sat out one day of practice to rest and treat it.
That’s why Coach Joe Russo didn’t start him. But once Foley entered the game Friday night against Oxford Hills, the sophomore found his shooting touch immediately.
Known as a good shooter, Foley lived up to his reputation.
Foley scored 14 of his 19 points in the second quarter to rally unbeaten Portland High, keying a 24-10 run, and the Bulldogs went on to beat Oxford Hills 74-57 in a Class AA North boys’ basketball game.
Portland (3-0) trailed 18-10 as Oxford Hills (2-1) closed the first quarter with an 11-0 run. The Bulldogs came out cautiously at the start, knowing 6-foot-6 center Andrew Fleming of the Vikings was in the middle.
Foley hit two 3-pointers and three 2-pointers in the second-quarter run. His 3-pointer from the corner broke a 24-24 tie. The Bulldogs, who won a regional title last season, didn’t trail again.
“When you make the first one, it gives you a lot of confidence, especially in an atmopshere like this,” said Foley. “The adrenaline really got going.”
The Oxford Hills gym was close to full and the game had a tourney atmopshere.
The Bulldogs followed up their big second quarter with 18 points in the third.
Trey Bellew, a 6-foot-4 freshman, came off the bench in the second quarter to help inside against Fleming, who scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.
“I like how the young guys contributed,” said Russo.
“Oxford Hills is a very good team. This is a good win for us, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Fleming, who has committed to play basketball at the University of Maine, also had 16 rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Bulldogs assigned one player to guard Fleming face up, but with a lot of help. Once Portland got running with its ball-hawking defense, Fleming was somewhat negated.
“You can’t make any mistakes against them,” said Oxford Hills Coach Scott Graffam.
“You have to run the floor with them because after they come up with a steal, they’re down the other end laying it in. … Portland is a very good team. Our goal is to be as good as Portland at the end of the year.”
The game seemed closer than the final score. The Vikings made a slight run late in the third quarter. Chris St. Pierre hit a 3, the Bulldogs were called for an offensive foul and then Jake Beauchesne scored to get Oxford Hills within seven. It was eight at the break.
The Bulldogs then outscored the Vikings 22-13 in the fourth.
Amir Moss added 18 points for Portland while Terion Moss had 14 points while controlling the game’s tempo from his point guard position.
St. Pierre added 10 points for the Vikings.
“We made some plays today and we played strong defense,” said Foley.
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