Missed opportunity

SACO — The Thornton Academy boys basketball team came out of the locker room at the end of halftime with a comfortable 33-23 lead over Windham Thursday night.

Then it was a missed shot, an off-target pass, or an ill-timed foul which created a snowball effect that triggered the Eagles to come back from its 10-point defecit to defeat the Golden Trojans, 61-52.

The game was a battle for the number four spot in the Maine Principal Association Heal Point standings. With the loss, Thornton (10-4) and Windham (10-5) switch places, as Thornton goes from fourth place to fifth place in Maine Western Class A, while Windham takes over the fourth spot.

With upcoming games against Massabesic, Kennebunk, Scarborough and Biddeford, it is unlikely the Trojans will be able to generate enough Heal Points to move back into fourth place, meaning Thornton will potentially be the number five seed going into the Western Class A playoffs.

Thornton Academy head coach Bob Davies said he is not concerned with the Trojans seeding in the upcoming playoffs.

“Honestly, I don’t believe any spot makes a difference,” Davies said. “Your objective is to win the first game, make sure you play a second game. That’s how you go through the playoffs, it’s a one game playoff. Whether you’re eighth, one, two, sixth, you still play a playoff game and if you don’t win, you go home. If you win the game, you get to play again.”

Guard James Ek and forward Tom Littlefield were the lone bright spots for the Trojans. Ek, who scored 12 points on Tuesday against Biddeford, continued his shooting success, scoring a game-high 22 points, including three three-point shots.

Littlefield worked hard all game long underneath the basket, scoring 17 points while snagging four rebounds amongst a slew of Windham defenders.

Thornton started the game with a quick 6-0 run on the Eagles to start the first half, and had a19-10 lead on Windham at the end of the first quarter.

Windham, which had trouble shooting in the first half, continued its woes into the second quarter, and the Trojans took full advantage, holding on to its 33-23 lead going into halftime.

Roles reversed in the third quarter. Windham found its shot, while fighting for rebounds on both offense and defense. Four of the Eagles starting five would go on to score 10 points or more in the game, with sophomore forward Nolan Allen topping the list with 21 points.

A Stephen Lambert layup would tie the game up for Windham at 45-45 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. From there, it was a back and forth battle between both squads.

“They started getting a good momentum going into the fourth quarter,” Ek said. “We started playing bad. Then [Windham guard Garrett] Clemmer really started getting to the line, which is one of his strong points, makes the easy ones and when he gets enough confidence, he just goes from there.”

Clemmer finished with 10 points, including four points from the foul line.

The Trojans would take the lead one more time in the fourth quarter, thanks to a layup by Littlefield, followed by a three-pointer from the corner on the next possesion by Matt Perreault to give the Trojans a 50-49 lead with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.

But only moments later, Windham forward Jackson Taylor made a layup giving Windham the lead which they never relinquished.

Davies gave credit to the Eagles for its strong play.

“They’re a good basketball team,” Davies said. “They shoot the basketball and play defense as a team. They’re strong and they’re physical, and they play four quarters. That’s a good team.”

The Trojans continued to have off-target passes and missed crucial shots to make a comeback, while Allen and Lambert made key free throws and Nick Taylor made a jumpshot to help the Eagles solidify its lead, eventually getting the win.

Ek cited execution as a main reason the Trojans lost.

“It was just execution, execution,” Ek said. “On defense, rotation on the floor, and on offense. We were taking some bad shots late in the game, trying to force things. There was a stretch where we had three turnovers in a row, and we were down two or four points, and you can’t make turnovers like that and win the game.”

Thornton hits the road on Saturday, traveling to Waterboro to play against Massabesic.

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