The only thing that might have made the Portland-South Portland game better Wednesday night was if it had been in the Western Class A tournament.

Once in a while you get games that are talked about long after they’re over.

With two supremely clutch baskets, the first at the end of regulation and the other at the end of the second overtime, Portland showed it wasn’t going to lose in its 80-71 triple-overtime victory. The Bulldogs lost a couple of early games this season they could have won, but inexperience was a factor.

Portland seems to have shaken that.

With the regular season at the halfway point, teams on the outside of the tournament top eight spots need quality wins. The victory moved the Bulldogs from 13th to a tie for eighth in the Heal point standings. It could be a start but as Coach Joe Russo noted, “We still have a long way to go.”

The Bulldogs will play at Cheverus tonight. The Stags (9-0) last played Saturday and will have back-to-back home games against Portland, then Deering on Saturday.

“It was a great game,” said South Portland Coach Phil Conley. “It was intense with both teams leaving it on the floor. Portland hit some big shots and that was the game.

“I’m proud of the way my kids battled. We were down by 14 points early in the fourth quarter. That was the fourth straight road game we’ve had and we came away with a 3-1 record against some very good teams.”

The Red Riots rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit and beat Thornton Academy in double-overtime Saturday. Two long games may have been a factor in the Riots getting outscored 10-1 in the third overtime against Portland.

“I thought we tired a little bit in the second overtime,” said Conley.

Trailing 51-37 in the fourth quarter, South Portland went on a 14-0 run to tie it.

With nine seconds left, Vukasin Vignjevic flipped the ball over his head to score on a drive, giving the Riots a 57-55 lead. The Bulldogs then went the length of the court with Peter Donato scoring at the buzzer to send it to overtime.

In the second overtime, Mike Herrick, who finished with 32 points, made two 3-pointers in the final 6.2 seconds, the last at the buzzer to force a third overtime.

South Portland played the overtimes without point guard Tanner Hyland, who sprained his ankle at the end of regulation.

WITH SIX OF its eight losses by single digits, Sanford (2-8) was overdue for a close game to go its way. It happened Monday when the Redskins beat Bonny Eagle, 49-47. Trailing by three points starting the fourth quarter, Sanford outscored the Scots, 15-10. Sophomore guard Ryan Camire led Sanford with 16 points.

“It finally feels good,” said Coach Kyle Hodsdon. “We’ve had some tight losses. We have a young team that hasn’t executed at the end of the game, but we executed at both ends of the court and the ball bounced our way against Bonny Eagle. You need a little bit of luck.”

Sanford lost a two-point game to Deering, missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and a one-point game to Westbrook when it missed a final shot. Sanford also lost to Windham by four points.

Its other win was against Noble, 66-55.

Camire leads the team at 12.8 points per game.

Sanford, which plays at Scarborough tonight, will be looking to finish the season as strongly as possible to set the tone for next year.

“We start two sophomores and a freshman gets playing time,” said Hodsdon. “We’re excited about our freshmen, our sophomores and the juniors in our program. The future looks good.”

ACCORDING TO Thornton Academy officials, Andrew Shaw’s 46 points Saturday at home against South Portland was a varsity school scoring record.

The Golden Trojans lost to the Red Riots 82-78 in double-overtime. Shaw hit eight 3-pointers.

The previous high was by Bob Warner, a center who scored 42 points in the early 1970s, then went on to star at the University of Maine.

Warner, a center, scored all of his points inside or on short jumpers. It was years before the 3-point shot was introduced.

Still, Shaw’s mark isn’t a Linnell Gym record. Two seasons ago, Keegan Hyland of South Portland scored 47 points in a 72-67 victory. In 1993, Chris Kumka of Sanford also had 47 points but Thornton won in triple-overtime, 78-75.

The most points in a game by a Thornton Academy player was by Steve Vance, who scored 48 in a freshman game at Linnell Gym. Vance went on to have a standout career, graduating in 1975.

A DAY AFTER Cam Kaubris of Mountain Valley was a finalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy as Maine’s top senior football player, the 5-foot-11 guard surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career Monday in a 73-70 victory against Jay in a Mountain Valley Conference game at Jay.

Kaubris needed 25 points to reach the milestone and finished with 31. The Falcons improved to 11-0.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

 

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