Sparked by strong defense and contributions from the bench, the South Portland boys’ basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Westbrook, 58-43, Friday night at Beal Gymnasium. Coleman Findlay led the Red Riots with 12 points.

“That was an emotional game,” said South Portland coach Tony DiBiase. “I thought it was really tough emotionally and physically. Westbrook’s a quality opponent; they’ve given everyone a tough game. Tonight I thought depth was important. The kids off the bench did a great job tonight.”

Following three straight losses – to Cheverus, Deering and Portland – the Riots were badly in need of a win. On the other side was a Westbrook team also badly in need of a win. The Blazes entered the game with a four-game losing streak of their own.

Things started out pretty even in the first quarter as the teams traded baskets for the bulk of the period. Westbrook briefly took the lead on a jumper by Dominic Borelli. The Riots reclaimed the lead on their next possession with two points from Will Furbush. That basket sparked an 8-0 run to finish the quarter and gave South Portland a 15-8 lead.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said DiBiase. “After losing a tough game last night that came down to the last shot against Portland, you don’t know how the kids are going to react. The kids came out and played really well in that situation. I think it was our quality depth.”

The South Portland run was buoyed by aggressive defense that created a number of mistakes by the Blue Blazes. Westbrook began the second quarter with three straight points from Borelli to cut the lead to three. The Riots answered with three in a row from Dan Smith and Nick Wright. South Portland finished the half with an 8-2 run with points coming from four different scorers. That gave South Portland a 26-15 advantage at the break.

“We’ve struggled really a lot this year at certain times usually in the first half,” said Westbrook coach Mark Karter. “It was no different tonight. We turned the ball over a lot. We couldn’t get going.”

The Blazes came out strong in the third quarter, however, when Kyle Sanborn began racking up points. He scored the first four points of the quarter and ended up with 10 points in that period alone. He finished with 15.

Sanborn, Shane Kelley and Josh Harriman contributed to get Westbrook within five points on three different occasions in the third quarter. But the Riots stayed tough and only allowed the Blazes to cut one point from their lead by the end of the third. With eight minutes to be played, South Portland led 41-31.

“I thought our kids did a nice job,” said Karter. “We cut it to five and then South Portland really executed and put us away. You have to give them credit for doing that. I thought their freshman guard (Keegan Hyland) played well. They’re a solid team.”

The Riots put the game away in the fourth quarter going on a 17-12 run for the quarter. Furbush, Hyland and Matt Findlay all hit three-pointers in the fourth to help seal it. South Portland had nine scorers with Coleman Findlay leading the way with 12 points. He also had 11 rebounds.

Sanborn led the Blazes with his 15. Borelli had 14.

“That was a good win because we were really worried about Westbrook,” said DiBiase. “Even though their record doesn’t indicate it, that’s a good team.”

Westbrook drops to 2-8 on the year. They were scheduled to face Sanford on Tuesday. South Portland improves to 6-4 besting their win total from last year. They are scheduled to face Sanford on Friday.

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