Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Demonstrative Claws

Maine pulls away after the first quarter for a much-needed one-sided victory.

PORTLAND — The Maine Red Claws said they were in need of a good old-fashioned blowout.

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Kurt Looby of the Red Claws tries for a rebound during Wednesday’s game against the Albuquerque Thunderbirds at the Portland Expo. Looby had two points and six blocks in the Claws’ 122-95 victory.

John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

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Paul Davis shoots past Albuquerque’s Shane Edwards, 15, in Wednesday night’s game at the Portland Expo. Davis had 29 points in the Red Claws’ 122-95 win.

John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

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Steadily building its lead from the first quarter, Maine trounced the Albuquerque Thunderbirds 122-95 at the Portland Expo Wednesday night before a crowd of 3,045 – sending a round of confidence around the locker room.

"We especially needed one like this. You get a good lead and can have a little fun out there," said center Paul Davis who finished with 29 points.

Maine (25-17) had lost 3 of 4 – a skid that dropped it from third to fifth place in the league standings since Sunday. The top eight qualify for the playoffs.

"That was really important. That one kept me off the tallest bridge in Portland," said Maine Coach Austin Ainge. "We've got to take advantage of games at home. We're bunched up with a lot of other teams."

The pace of the game helped get Maine's second unit some quality minutes.

All 10 players on the roster played at least 21 minutes. No one played more than 26:28.

"That was maybe the most important thing, for that second unit to get some playing time together," said Ainge. "They had been struggling a bit chemistry-wise."

It showed in the five: T.J. Cummings put up 17 points, Marcus Landry 12, Terrell Harris 10 and Billy Thomas eight. Kurt Looby scored two with six blocks.

"That was much needed. We talked about it on the way over here," said Thomas. "We needed a convincing win. And it ended up being that. We also got a chance to get some chemistry going."

The two teams traded leads seven times in the first quarter, which ended 32-32.

Maine climbed to a 63-50 halftime lead after a 13-4 run.

Morris Almond hit a pair of 3's during the run, one coming after a block by Davis on Keith McLeod.

Davis scored 21 of his 29 points in the first half.

In the third quarter Davis scored six straight points: a reverse layup, jumper from the top of the key and another layup driving the baseline.

Maine took a 95-69 lead into the fourth quarter when the game never really was in reach for the Thunderbirds.

Almond finished with 19 points for Maine, and Russell Robinson had 13.

The game marked the return of former Maine forward Trey Gilder, who was traded two weeks ago for Looby.

Gilder scored 20 points. Chad Toppert had 22, hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers.

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at:

jmenendez@pressherald.com