STANDISH — Scarborough boys’ basketball coach Phil Conley has been around the SMAA long enough to know you can’t get set in your ways.
He showed that Friday night by surprising host Bonny Eagle when he switched up his defense to stymie the home team in a 52-34 victory for the Red Storm.
The Red Storm pressured the Scots with both man to man and a 1-3-1 zone. With all four Scarborough starters over 6-feet tall – including 6-7 Nick Fiorillo and 6-4 Reece Lagerquist – they caused fits for Bonny Eagle all night.
“We changed up defense from zone to man to man (and back), and I thought our guys really executed defensively,” said Conley, in his second year at Scarborough after a long stint at South Portland. “(The defense) was a very big key, too, as we limited them to one shot and done.
“We played zone well and man to man well. You have to change it up in this league. You can’t play the same defense (all the time). So we changed it up tonight, and I thought they responded.”
Offensively, Scarborough (2-1) was led by Fiorillo’s 26 points and 11 rebounds. He opened the scoring with a 3-pointer off the opening tip and scored from the inside and outside.
“My shots started falling early – I got to the hoop and (drew) some fouls, so I started to heat up that way,” he said.
Lagerquist added 10 points and Paul Kirk chipped in with eight points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
The Scots (2-1) brought experience, with four starters back from last year. But with only center William Hendrix standing over 6 feet, they were forced to take outside shots.
A 1-for-15 first-half performance from 3-point range helped put Bonny Eagle in a 26-15 hole. The Scots were 6 for 27 from long range overall.
Bonny Eagle only managed to get the deficit below double figures at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when a basket by Hendrix made it 37-29.
Scarborough then slowly increased its lead throughout the quarter.
Bolstering the Red Storm’s defensive effort was a 36-27 rebounding advantage.
Scots senior Nick Thorne, a returning starter, said his team couldn’t break through the Red Storm defense.
“We’re a really small team with a lot of heart, but when they have a 6-7 kid and a 6-4 kid out there it makes it kind of difficult,” he said. “They were good on the offensive boards and defensive boards to give them a lot of chances.
“We had a hard time getting the ball inside the 3-point line, so we resorted to outside shots. With their length, it even made it difficult to shoot from the outside. And we really couldn’t penetrate. Their height was a killer tonight.”
Following Fiorillo’s basket seven seconds into the game, it took the Red Storm almost four minutes to score again. The lead was 7-0 before Zach Maturo broke Bonny Eagle’s scoring drought at 5:36.
Scarborough took its first double-digit lead with a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the second quarter. Brian Austin connected in the lane, Fiorillo made a 3, and Lagerquist scored on a reverse layup for a 20-10 edge.
Connor Sirois led BE with nine points on a trio of 3-pointers. Hendrix pulled down nine rebounds.
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