Dustin Cole doesn’t do anything lazily, and he especially doesn’t score 39 points that way. But he sure can make a three-point shot look languid. Relaxed. Easy. Really, he can do that with most any shot; his three just happened to take center stage for a while Friday night, Feb. 7. As did Ben Malloy’s, and Nate Alexander’s, and Zach Dubiel’s too. At the final buzzer, Bonny Eagle’s relentless assault sent them happy to the locker room, a 101-51 homecourt victory over Windham powering their grins.

The Scots advance to 17-1, and finish the regular season ranked third in A West, behind first-place Portland (18-0) and second-place Falmouth (17-1). Windham, now 6-12, lingers in 11th, behind Scarborough (9-9) but ahead of Marshwood (7-11).

“It was a good way to end the season,” Cole said. “We have momentum going into playoffs this year, so I’m excited.”

Faced with a team substantially further down in the standings, Bonny Eagle head coach Phil Bourassa nevertheless planned to “play fast, play the way we need to play in the next game…play aggressive.”

The Scots required several minutes to find their groove, and the Eagles jumped out to an early advantage, 9-4. Soon enough, however, Dubiel hit a three for 9-7; was Bonny Eagle coming alive? Yup, and when Cole knocked down a three to take the lead, 10-7, the stands erupted and Windham’s evening, it would turn out, was over.

Cole caught fire then, lots of fire. On the following possession, he hounded Josh Dugas as Dugas tried to advance upcourt. Cole nearly turned the steal, but Dugas recovered and dashed away, only for Cole to pickpocket him when he next blinked. While the crowd cheered, Cole ran the ball back for a lay-up and two more.

Troy Davis did his darnedest to keep Windham in it then, dropping a two himself only to watch Cole promptly go three for three from the line. Davis added two more, but the Scots’ momentum was building.

Alexander sank a three to start the second quarter. Windham’s Kevin Weisser responded with a two, but Cole added another three, which he directly followed with yet another three, unchallenged liquid jumpers he wasn’t even forced into attempting, simply seemed to see and seize.

All told, he had four threes in the second quarter, but he wasn’t the only Scot hashing points. Malloy and Nate Schopen notched threes of their own; going into the half, Bonny Eagle stood on top 39-26.

When the teams reconvened, the entire Scots lineup appeared to have hot hands. Malloy turned a steal and handed off to Cole, who dished to Alexander for three. Cole stole and shoveled to Nick Dubay for a two and a drawn foul, which Dubay sank. Dubay missed a three, but Malloy caught the rebound; Malloy’s first attempt missed as well – luckily, he was there to catch his own rebound in midair. His second attempt drained.

During the mid-third, Cole drove inward from the perimeter, leapt; he found the time, in flight, to execute multiple ducks and jukes, thereby slipping past the defense and rolling in a two on which he also drew a foul. 70-37, after three.

“I think we [played aggressively] in the second half,” Bourassa said. “In the first half, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of uncharacteristic play.” The game was Cole’s last regular season home game as a Scot; he will graduate in June. Next fall, he’s off to Franklin Pierce, where he accepted a full scholarship.

“I’ve been playing with him since first grade,” Malloy said of Cole. “It’s going to be weird, with him going to college. But I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s a great player, best friend.”

Cole simmered in the fourth, his fire tempered into, well, coals. Given the opportunity, his teammates burned bright; Malloy bucketed three more threes, Alexander two more. A handful of Scots second-stringers replaced the starters, and maintained their pace. When Connor Gibson threw down a three with less than a minute to play, and that three put the Scots over 100, the packed stands nearly lost control.

“When we play fast, when we play aggressive,” Bourassa said. “We can put up 60 points in a half.”

The Scots posted 31 in the third, and another 31 in the fourth, to secure their 101-51 W. 27 of their Q4 points came on nine threes; the other four came on free-throws. Bonny Eagle racked up 21 threes on the night, breaking their own school record, set earlier this season, of 18.

Windham wasn’t without its impressive efforts; they merely encountered a top team having a superb night. The Eagles’ Ryan Gorman turned in 15, Weisser had 14 and Davis added 10, but those three tallies combined just equaled Cole’s 39.

Cole also turned 10 steals, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. “That’s a triple-double,” Bourassa said. “And almost a quadruple-double.”

In addition, Malloy scored 21. Alexander had 15 and Dubiel 9.

Bonny Eagle earns a bye through the prelims; they’ll face the winner of six-seed Sanford (12-6) versus none other than Windham themselves. That game tipped off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday the 11th.

“We have to have a great week of practice,” Bourassa said. “The kids have to come in ready to work. Whoever we may play, we need to be ready to go.”

“I feel real confident going into the playoffs,” Cole said. “We have a lot of momentum right now; hopefully we can keep it going.”

“We want redemption for the last three years,” Malloy said. “So we’re going to keep trying; I feel good about it.”

Dustin Cole prowls the perimeter at home Friday night against Windham. Cole had 39 points in the Scots’ 101-51 thrashing of neighboring Windham.Ben Malloy attacks against Windham Friday night. Malloy had 21 in Bonny Eagle’s victory.Bonny Eagle’s Nate Alexander drives upward through a bramble of Windham arms Friday night.Windham’s Ryan Gorman readies a leaping jumper for release over Bonny Eagle’s Nate Schopen Friday night.Troy Davis looks to inbounds the ball for Windham at Bonny Eagle Friday night.Dealing with Bonny Eagle’s onslaught Friday night, Windham Eagles Sean Gersay (11), Kevin Weisser (21) and Darren Nadeau (31) nevertheless play on.Dustin Cole tickles the clock, Ben Malloy the net.

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