The past week made one thing abundantly clear: there is going to be quite a battle for the top spot in the Western Maine Conference this boys basketball season.

After losing to Falmouth in the final seconds last Tuesday, Cape Elizabeth, the defending Western Maine Class B champ, ventured to Naples on Saturday night for what turned out to be a thriller against Lake Region in front of an ample crowd.

Trailing by 12 points with less than three minutes to play, Cape made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in 75 seconds to get back in the game. The Capers had two shots for the tie in the final five seconds, but couldn’t convert and fell to the Lakers 68-66, dropping Cape to 3-2. Lake Region improved to 5-1.

“Playing games (in this atmosphere) and being in a competitive league is good for us,” said Cape coach Jim Ray. While his squad was picked by many to again be atop the WMC, some of the young players are still learning how to play in close games.

“We have the heart, but we’ve got an awful lot to learn still,” Ray added.

Lake Region led 51-47 entering the fourth, then scored seven straight points to begin the final quarter. It was 64-53 in favor of the Lakers with 2:56 left before Alex Bowe drained a 3 to cut Cape’s deficit to nine. Lake Region’s Kevin Gilson rimmed out a 3 at the other end, and Bowe launched another 3 from straight on, several steps behind the top of the arc. It swished through to make it 64-58 with 2:33 left.

After Lake Region missed a shot inside, Conor Moloney scored in transition for the Capers to get them within four points. The Lakers missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Cape’s Cam Brown nailed a 3 to make it 64-63 with 1:41 to go.

But the Lakers didn’t crumble. Guard Phil Leighton, who had a team-high 21 points, posted up and sank a short turnaround jumper to push his team’s lead to three with just over a minute to go.

“I thought, ‘Oh, man,'” Leighton said. “I thought they were going to take it. But we came down, executed, were patient with the ball and we did the right things to win.”

Cape’s Theo Bowe made one free throw with 58 seconds left and Cape forced a Lake Region turnover. Johnny Messina drove to the hoop, but his shot missed the mark and Leighton secured the rebound.

The Lakers needed to call two timeouts to deal with Cape’s pressure, but maintained possession until Leighton was fouled with 11.6 seconds left. He made the first of a 1-and-1, but missed the second. Cape’s Ben Fox pulled down the rebound, only to have Gilson steal the outlet pass. He was immediately fouled, and Lake Region was in the double bonus.

Gilson missed both free throws, but got his own rebound. That’s when things got a little nutty. Alex Bowe wrapped Gilson up, committing his fifth foul with 6.5 seconds to go. Gilson threw an elbow in response and was called for a technical foul, his fifth foul. It also gave Cape two foul shots and possession.

Danny Place came off the bench for Lake Region to take the foul shots with Gilson fouled out. He made the first and missed the second.

It was then Cape’s turn to shoot free throws and Alex Bowe stepped to the line and made one of two. The officials didn’t realize he, too, had fouled out, so the point was erased and Moloney shot in Bowe’s place, making both to make the score 68-66.

Messina got the ball on the inbounds play and drove to the hoop. He was well defended and missed the shot, but the ball went out of bounds off Lake Region. Conor Lawler had a shot for the win, but his jumper missed as time ran out, setting off a Lake Region celebration on the court.

“We got a lot out of this,” Ray said. “We lost to Falmouth in a tough one and got a lot out of it. We’re finding out that just because a newspaper says something doesn’t mean that it’s gospel. We have to go out and play, and we have to play well. We have to have a number of players step up all at the same time.”

Alex Bowe scored 10 points in the first quarter as Cape took an 18-17 lead after one. It was tied at 31-31 at halftime. Alex Bowe finished with a game-high 28 points, eight coming in the fourth quarter. He made four 3s.

“He’s got a shot behind his head that’s almost impossible to block,” Leighton said. “He’s got a great shot. He’s hard to defend.”

Alex Bowe barely got a breather, working off screens with and without the ball looking for an opening. Cape was without Andrew Dickey, its second-leading scorer, who was suspended for the game for disciplinary reasons, according to Ray.

Despite focusing their defensive efforts on Alex Bowe, Lake Region didn’t have an answer for him.

“Wow,” Lakers coach Mike Francoeur said when asked about his performance. “I told them in pregame that he’s one of the best players in the conference. I told them ‘he will make big shots.’ He will make them off-balance, he will make them with people in his face. He’s been doing it forever.”

Francoeur was just as impressed with Alex Bowe’s character.

“After the game, he said to me, ‘Coach, you’ve got a great team. Good luck the rest of the way.’ That just goes to show the type of kid he is,” Francoeur said.

Moloney finished with 12 points for Cape. Brown had nine.

Gilson made four 3s in the first quarter for Lake Region and had 16 points. Matt Langadas added 14, seven coming in the fourth quarter. Derek Mayo scored all 10 of his points in the third for the Lakers, whose only loss came at Yarmouth, 52-50.

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