Westbrook fought back from a big halftime deficit Friday – handily outscoring Gorham over the last two periods – but the Rams 23-point first-half margin was too much to overcome, and the hosts topped the Blue Blazes, 48-38.

The win was the seventh in a row for Gorham after an 0-3 start against the top three squads in the SMAA, while Westbrook dropped to 2-6. The Blazes have a number of upcoming contests that, if they win the majority, could put them in contention for a preliminary-round playoff game.

Friday’s action began with both teams playing outstanding defense. The squads seemed evenly matched as Westbrook had the score tied early in the first period.

The entire tone of the ballgame changed when Jeff Manchester emerged, yet again, for Gorham. He netted a long three-point shot as his first basket of the game.

“We’ve been talking about coming out in the first half and playing good defense and good offense, and that’s what we did,” Manchester said. “We came out strong and we ended strong.”

The Rams proceeded to score 10 more points in the first quarter, led by their high-flying senior, who had the magic touch, dropping in two more three-pointers and totaling 13 points in the opening period.

“We got off to such a good start early in the game,” said Gorham coach Kevin Jenkins. “Manchester had a great first quarter. He’s a tough player.”

At the start of the second quarter the Blazes were still being smothered by the much larger Rams squad. Travis Rand managed to score four points for the visitors despite the overbearing defense.

The Rams continued the attack halfway into the second period until Manchester was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. On a breakaway play, he moved toward the basket and continued on to attempt a dunk and after missing was forced to dangle above the players beneath him.

“He tried to dunk the ball and landed up hanging over some kids underneath the basket,” said Jenkins. “But if there are players underneath you are allowed to grab the rim and let yourself down. In the end the referees sorted things out; I think they made the right call.”

The third period brought out a new Blazes team. Rand (nine points) and Kyle Sanborn (12 points) stepped up, Rand sinking a three-pointer as part of his contributed five points in the quarter and Sanborn playing tough defense.

“We just wanted to make an adjustment at halftime,” said Westbrook coach Mark Karter. “We wanted to make sure we came out and played a little harder, got some rebounds and got ourselves back in the game.”

Gorham found themselves playing against a more aggressive Westbrook squad. The Blazes outscored the Rams, 26-13, over the final two quarters.

“I shot the ball and put it in a few times,” said Sanborn. “I think we ended up beating them by (13 points) in the second half, which is great.”

“We came out a lot more oppressive and confident in the second half. We moved the ball and made our shots,” said Rand. “Our big guys really stepped up, their scoring inside was huge.”

Westbrook (now 2-7 after losing to Bonny Eagle, 68-46, Saturday) hosts Massabesic (3-7) Friday, while Gorham (7-3 after beating Windham, 59-46, Saturday) will be home against Noble (0-10) the same evening.