GORHAM – The Bonny Eagle boys basketball team stretched both the lead and its three-game winning streak on Tuesday night, laying into Gorham (1-6) early and never letting go. Thanks to dominant outside shooting from senior captain Steven Simonds – who had a team-high 16 points – and freshman phenom Dustin Cole (13 points), the Scots put up nine straight before the Rams replied, and led 23-11 at the half. Bonny Eagle would later widen the gap to an unbridgeable chasm as deep as 21 points, and easily cruised to the 53-36 victory.

For Gorham, the loss to a perennial rival like the Scots is yet another speed bump in what is quickly shaping up to be a down year. The Rams entered the game coming off their only win of the season against Kennebunk (also 1-6) on Jan. 7, but quickly returned to the snake-bitten pattern that saw the team drop its first five games this season.

“I think the rivalry kind of buzz is a good thing to have, especially down the stretch before the more important games we play,” said Bonny Eagle Head Coach Phil Bourassa. “The fans really love this.”

But right from the start the only fans who were having a really good time were those wearing green. Thanks to an opening three by Simonds and some excellent inside play by senior forward Jeff Amell, the Scots rolled out to and early 9-0 advantage.

It wasn’t until 2:55 left in the quarter, when Gorham junior forward Carter Bowers hit a layup on a breakaway, that the Rams spun the numbers on the scoreboard. Despite some good shooting by Kyle Nealy and Zach Speirs in the closing minutes, Gorham couldn’t close the distance, a situation exacerbated when Cole swished a long 3 with 30 seconds left.

Bonny Eagle led 16-7 at the buzzer.

“You can call him a freshman,” Bourassa said of Cole, “but if I had a senior like him, I would be very happy. He is wise beyond his years. He is an incredible talent that I am very, very happy to have playing for us.”

Both teams had difficulty making their presence felt in the paint during the second. Cole opened the scoring with a jumper at 7:33, but a full two minutes rolled by before either team hit a basket. Nealy hit a turn-around jump shot with 5:22 remaining to make it 18-9, but a late three by Bonny Eagle’s Cole Libby helped the Scots widen the gap to double digits late, and Gorham would never be that close again.

“They can shoot,” said Gorham Head Coach Ryan Chicoine. “They are a very, very good team. You kind of pick your poison with them. You try to take away one aspect of the game and have them beat you with their weakness, but the way they shoot, they don’t have just one or two guys who can get you. They have four guys who can come in and shoot, and that’s the toughest part about it.”

Rather than close the lead in the third, the Rams watched as Bonny Eagle pushed the envelope. The Scots went on a 6-0 run to start the period, and were knocking on the door of a blowout when Cole hit another deep jumper with 5:07 left to make it 35-14.

To Gorham’s credit, that was as bad as things ever got. Thanks to some strong shooting in the paint by Nealy, and excellent offensive rebounding by Speirs, the Rams had trimmed things to 38-22 by the start of the fourth.

“I’ll put my kids against anybody in terms of heart and pure determination,” Chicoine said. “They will not take a play off. That’s something that I have told them, and that I have pride in them over, and they know that. I will go to bat for them every time, because of the fact that that’s their character and my character; that we don’t take off until the last buzzer.”

And Gorham did temporarily make things a bit interesting. When Nealy made one-of-two from the line with 5:20 left to cut it to 42-28, there were rumblings of excitement from the stands that heralded a potential close finish. Instead, the Scots widened the lead back out to 18 – thanks a 4-0 run that featured good foul shooting by Libby and a stellar drive to the hole down the baseline by senior guard Isiah Brown – then put in their bench to close things out.

“We have a great team,” Simonds said. “We have two big post players and unselfish guard play. So that means that there is no real need for any one player to try and step up and score all our points. I score when it’s open, but then again Dustin and Cole are in there to score points too. We are starting to get some team chemistry, and we are working well together. The rest of the season definitely looks bright.”

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