KENNEBUNK — Call it gritty. Call it stressful. Call it a tough, 77-72 overtime road win for the improved Westbrook High boys’ basketball team that sends the Class A Blue Blazes to the holidays with a nicely wrapped 4-1 record – the only loss coming to Class AA Cheverus.
“We’re off to a really good start. I thought that this would be a game that could go either way,” said Westbrook Coach Bryan Hoy, whose team went 7-12 in last season. “I thought we had a really good chance against Cheverus but, again, some mistakes down the stretch. But we’re a good team. We know we’re a good team. We believe in ourselves.”
Kennebunk started off red-hot, led by junior Jacob Thompson. The Rams made seven of their first nine 3-point attempts and led by 12 early in the second quarter.
Westbrook began whittling the margin later in the second, pulled even in the third, and then led by seven in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Blazes used a strong inside game, featuring point forward Kolbyn Dunphe (25 points), 6-foot-5 Aiden Taylor (19 points) and 6-3 center Ben Eugley (12 points) to bang away at the undersized Rams.
“That’s one thing we really try to work on in most of our games. We’re not a huge team, but we’re definitely a good post team,” Dunphe said.
Westbrook could have put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter but struggled at the free-throw line, making only 8 of 19 attempts in the second half, including four straight misses after taking a 66-62 lead with 1:07 left in regulation. Kennebunk rallied behind an on-the-move 3-pointer by Thompson, with Dunphe guarding him tightly, and two free throws from Theo Powe gave the Rams a 67-66 lead.
Dunphe, who had missed three straight free throws, converted a second-shot attempt to tie the game with 17 seconds left.
In overtime, Taylor and Dunphe made shots inside, and Dunphe and Eugley combined hit 6 of 10 free throws, while Kennebunk had several turnovers.
The Rams (2-2) have also shown they will be competitive despite graduating all five starters from last season.
Thompson, who gets significant elevation on his jump shot, finished with 18 points on six 3-pointers. He made his first four attempts. George Lazos led the Rams with 22 points. Max Andrews, hobbled by a first-half ankle injury and foul trouble, scored 13 points, making his first three 3-point shots. Cole Perkins came off the bench for 10 points, including six in the fourth quarter.
“We have a couple of shooters that we have a lot of faith in and we’re just happy to get them the ball. They know their jobs. We have rebounders and they know their jobs, and everyone is involved,” said Paul Maguire, in his first season as Kennebunk’s varsity coach after 20 years as an assistant.
“Not looking at wins and losses but just the way we’re playing, it’s pretty close to being ecstatic about how the kids are buying in and working hard and working as a team. We’re pretty pleased to be 2-2.”
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