AUGUSTA — Windham High came up with key defensive stops and clutch baskets at the end to upset Deering 51-47 Thursday night in a Class AA North boys’ basketball quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.
The sixth-seeded Eagles (13-6) advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against No. 2 Edward Little (17-1). No. 3 Deering is done at 12-7.
Windham, despite its low seed, is the only team to defeat Edward Little, beating the Eddies 60-58 on Jan. 24.
The Eagles showed they’re capable of beating anyone – even Deering, which handled Windham 62-41 in a season opener.
Mike Gilman led Windham with 18 points. His two free throws with 1.2 seconds left clinched the victory.
Nick Curtis added 15 points and Dierhow Bol scored 10.
Jean Claude Butera led Deering with 12 points.
The Rams tried to pressure Curtis early, but both Butera and guard Darryl Germain picked up two quick fouls.
In the second quarter, Deering switched to a zone defense. The Eagles finished with six 3-pointers, two apiece by Gilman and Curtis.
Windham took a 12-9 first-quarter lead, as Deering made six turnovers. But the Eagles went cold in the second quarter and Deering edged ahead for a 22-20 halftime lead.
It was a back-and-forth game, with 18 lead changes and nine ties.
With 2:35 to play, Deering went ahead 44-43 on two Raffaele Salamone free throws.
Bol answered with an inside jumper and Windham led 45-44.
With 1:45 left, Bol stole the ball. Curtis missed a runner, but Bol rebounded and passed the ball out. Curtis then drove to the basket and dished to Bol for an easy layup and a 47-44 lead with 1:08 left.
Deering tried to go inside to Salamone, but Bol stole the pass. Deering pressured and got the ball back, and Orey Dutton hit a jumper with 35 seconds remaining.
Deering pressured again and fouled Chris Brown. Brown, who hit a 3-pointer earlier in the quarter, drained both foul shots for a 49-46 lead with 30 seconds left.
Deering missed its next shot but got the ball back when the rebound went out of bounds off Windham. The Rams called two timeouts trying to set up a shot, and their last play went to Salamone for an open 3-pointer that was off the mark. Butera was fouled on the rebound with two seconds left, then made one shot before purposely missing the second, but a lane violation gave Windham the ball.
Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
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