Jose Nouchanthavong spent the regular season passing to teammates, content to dish off to one of Westbrook’s big men in the post, or kick it out to a shooter beyond the arc. He averaged better than five assists a contest, often taking less than that many shots.

So it’s no surprise that Windham High didn’t focus its defensive efforts on stopping Nouchanthavong from scoring. The Blue Blazes’ wiry 6-foot point guard made the Eagles regret that.

On the Blazes’ opening possession, Nouchanthavong dribbled into the paint and kept going when no one stepped in to stop him. He took the ball to the rim, finger rolling in the first two points of the game. He scored six in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 12 points on six-of-seven shooting.

Backcourt mate Christian Hamilton connected on a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, and 6’7″ center Dominic Borelli had a game-high 22 as No. 2 Westbrook (17-2) pulled away in the middle quarters for a 58-42 win over No. 7 Windham (12-8) in Saturday night’s Western Maine Class A boys basketball quarterfinal game at the Portland Expo.

The teams played two close games in the regular season, with the Blazes winning by three points on the road (41-38) and four points at home in the finale (55-51), when Westbrook’s 6’6″ junior forward Nich Jobin torched the Eagles for 25 points and Borelli added 11. It made sense for Windham to concentrate on shutting down the Blazes’ twin towers.

“We figured if we kept them under 30 (combined), we’d have a chance to win,” said Windham coach Kevin Millington.

The Eagles did that, as Jobin managed just three points, though he was a major factor on the glass and on the defensive end.

“Their focus was Dominic and Nich,” said Westbrook coach Mark Karter. “It’s hard to contain them both. It’s hard to keep them both down. We were fortunate that Nich played solid and Dominic had a great game tonight.”

And Nouchanthavong took what was given to him and made the best of it. Karter said he’s gradually become more confident offensively during the second half of the season.

“I have to penetrate, get the offense going, dish the ball out. That’s what I have to do,” Nouchanthavong said. But when Jobin and Borelli were blanketed, his responsibilities changed. “They double-teamed them most of the time, so I had to penetrate and take my shots.”

“You tip your hat to Christian Hamilton, to Jose, even (Andrew) Beckwith and (Tyler) Kelly,” said Millington. “They made enough shots tonight that we couldn’t sit there and double- and triple-team those other two.”

Kelly and Beckwith combined for eight points. Beckwith made a 3 in the first quarter that helped the Blazes assume a 17-16 lead after one despite hot shooting from the Eagles.

Three different Windham players knocked down 3s in the opening eight minutes. Garrett Clemmer scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the first.

“They hit some tough shots early,” Karter said. “We were hoping that they weren’t going to continue to do that the whole game. I thought our defense got better as the game wore on a little bit. I also thought we were able to limit them to one shot and get some rebounds.”

Windham took a 25-21 lead midway through the second quarter following Andy Brix’s second 3 of the game and a putback by Nate Dixon, but the Blazes closed the half strongly. Nouchanthavong scored on an acrobatic drive, Hamilton hit back-to-back 3s and Borelli scored on a pass from Hamilton in the final minute to give Westbrook a 33-26 lead headed into halftime.

The Blazes held Windham scoreless for more than six minutes in the third quarter, using a 20-0 run spanning the end of the second and start of the third to take control. Hamilton’s lay-in with 2:40 remaining in the third put Westbrook up 43-26. A 3 by Clemmer 50 seconds later finally broke the Eagles’ drought.

“That’s been our issue all year long,” Millington said. “We play pretty good defense, but we’ve struggled scoring. That killed us. We ended the second quarter not so well and then the start of the third.”

Nouchanthavong’s driving layup just before the end of the third gave the Blazes a 47-29 lead heading into the fourth.

Clemmer cut his team’s deficit to 10 with 4:30 to go on a pair of free throws and scored eight points in the fourth, but Kelly answered with a three-point play and the Eagles got no closer.

It was a tough end, but a good season for Windham, which graduates seniors Dixon, Brandon Guerrette, Carlton Charles and Andrew O’Neill. All five of Saturday’s starters were juniors.

“They busted their butt all year long,” said Millington. “We had a great group of guys, about as good a 14 guys that you can have on a team.”

The Eagles began the season with some adversity, losing their top two returning scorers for disciplinary reasons. But Clemmer, a junior, soon established himself as one of the SMAA’s top scoring, averaging 18 points a game.

“He was very, very consistent,” Millington said. “It wasn’t I got you 30 one night, or I got you 20 one night, he did it every night. It’s something to build on for him. And I think we’re going to have a couple other kids who are going to have good offseasons. I think we’ll be better next year.”

Westbrook advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal against No. 6 Portland, played at the Cumberland County Civic Center after American Journal’s deadline. The winner of that game is scheduled to play the Thornton Academy/Cheverus winner at 9 p.m. on Saturday for the regional title.

Portland upset No. 3 South Portland 72-49 in the quarterfinals. Westbrook beat the Bulldogs 62-48 when the teams met in late January at the Expo. Borelli had 27 points and 19 rebounds in that game.