WESTBROOK – The Westbrook boys basketball team is riding high right now and breathing down the necks of league leader Cheverus, thanks to a five-game winning streak.

The Blazes extended their streak at home on Tuesday night with a 51-40 win over struggling Biddeford (1-6). In the latest Heal Point standings released on Jan. 12, Westbrook (6-1), are ranked at No. 2, second only to the top-ranked Stags, the league’s only undefeated team at 7-0.

As the season continues, the Blazes are going to need some help if they want to overtake the Stags for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. On Dec. 14, Cheverus handed Westbrook its only defeat of the season, a 52-35 loss at home. The two teams do not face off again in the regular season.

Against the Tigers on Tuesday night, Westbrook was led by Trevor Bates, who had 22 points and 16 rebounds. The Blazes also got 12 big points from Zach Gardiner, and Sean Murphy added seven.

For the Tigers, Mike Lachance was the leading scorer in the game with 12 points and Chance Baldino and Nathan McKeown each added 10 points of their own.

The Blazes struggled to get a rhythm going in the first half, as they were held to just 17 points in a back-and-forth 16 minutes that saw the lead change hands several times before Biddeford finally took an 18-17 lead into the halftime break thanks to a tiebreaking free throw from Ronnie Dube.

The Blazes showed some fire as they came out for the start of the third quarter, putting the clamps on Biddeford’s offense while generating points of their own. Less than a minute into the third, the Blazes grabbed the lead back for good thanks to a hoop from Bates that made it 19-18 in favor of the Blazes. Then, just 10 seconds later, Zach Gardiner came up with a big steal and drove down for the layup to give Westbrook a 21-18 lead.

The Blazes kept up the pressure throughout the quarter thanks to six points from Zach Gardiner and four from Bates and took a 31-24 lead into the final frame.

The Tigers attempted to make a run in the fourth, but the Blazes had an answer for them every time, getting 10 big points from Bates in the final eight minutes. Murphy also sunk a big dagger into the Tigers’ hopes with just over 4:00 left to play. After Murphy missed a 3 from the corner, Bates hustled for the rebound and got it right back out to Murphy, who calmly drained his second chance at a 4 to make it 39-32, Westbrook.

While the Tigers would cut the lead to as little as five later in the game, the Blazes had a firm grasp on things and hit their shots down the stretch to cruise to the win.

The Blazes will look to keep the winning going with a road matchup against Sanford on Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. Following the game with the Redskins, Westbrook will be home on Jan. 18 to take on Thornton Academy at 7 p.m.

Westbrook’s Sean Murphy drives to the hoop over Biddeford’s Chance Baldino on Tuesday night. Murphy had seven points, including a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter of the Blazes’ 51-40 win.
Staff photo by Mike Higgins

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