Just how big is a “big” regular-season victory? Well, a lot depends on what follows.

At least that’s what Bonny Eagle boys’ basketball coach Phil Bourassa and Camden Hills girls’ coach Marty Messer are telling their players these days.

Both teams had, by any measure, huge wins last Tuesday: Bonny Eagle handed defending Western Class A champ Cheverus its first loss, 46-39, and Camden Hills beat defending Class B state champ Leavitt, 68-60.

And while both wins will obviously provide a ton of Heal points the rest of the season, the Scots and Windjammers need to keep building on the momentum those victories can provide.

For the Scots, it was especially sweet in that it came after a two-point overtime loss in their previous game to top-ranked Deering.

“Certainly that win was huge for us,” Bourassa said Wednesday. “We didn’t hang our heads, we kept working hard.

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“But just like you can’t dwell on a loss, you can’t dwell on a win. Sure it’s a big win for the program, but it’s one of those things where we’ve just got to move on.”

The win propelled the Scots (5-2) into a third-place tie with Portland in Western Class A, behind Deering and Cheverus, which has now lost just two of its last 61 regular-season games.

Bourassa knows there are many obstacles ahead. “There are a lot of formidable teams that could be there at the end,” he said.

The Scots dug deep to win this one. They trailed 17-10 at the half, and by five early in the fourth. Then Cole Libby took over. He scored 15 of Bonny Eagle’s final 17 points and hit 11 of 13 foul shots in the fourth quarter.

“It certainly felt better than an average win,” said Bourassa. “It might provide us the confidence we need later on.”

Messer, the second-year girls’ coach at Camden Hills, is hoping the same for his Windjammers.

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Coming off a 9-9 season that saw the perennial contenders miss the Eastern Class B playoffs, Messer was hoping for a better season.

“We’ve got some tough competitors,” he said. “We have good practices. When we play tough defense and do the little things, we can compete with anyone.”

Camden Hills snapped two long Leavitt winning streaks. The Hornets had won 29 in a row overall, as well as 34 consecutive regular-season games.

“It’s a big confidence-booster,” said Messer. “We’ve really been up and down, even though we have a 7-0 record.”

The Windjammers have one of the state’s best-kept secrets: junior forward Jordan Knowlton. She scored 30 points with 21 rebounds and six assists in the win. For the season, the 5-foot-9 Knowlton, who plays just about every position, is averaging 24 points, 14.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

But it’s team effort that’s carrying the Windjammers.

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“We’ve been preaching playing tough defense,” Messer said. “That game was the epitome of what we’re talking about. It really reinforced everything we’ve been doing.”

SCARBOROUGH’S GIRLS are 7-0, sitting in second place in Western Class A, under first-year coach Tom Maines.

The Red Storm, like every team that Maines has ever coached, are playing relentless defense, forcing more than 30 turnovers per game.

And Scarborough is doing it without two key players: senior 6-foot-3 center Brittany Bona and sophomore guard Alisha Starbird have both left the team. While disappointed with their departures, Maines is proud of how the team has reacted.

“I like the way the girls have responded,” he said.

“I’m glad they responded to my method of coaching and the intensity level I want them to play at.”

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The Red Storm face a tough stretch in its next five games: at No. 4 Thornton Academy (today), at No. 6 Cheverus (Tuesday), home against Noble, at No. 5 Deering, and home against No. 3 McAuley.

“We’ll find out how good we are,” Maines said.

MIKE NELSON has returned to Thornton Academy, this time as an assistant girls’ basketball coach to Eric Marston. Nelson left Thornton Academy in 2005 after six years — four as boys’ basketball coach, two as softball coach — for Morse, where he coached boys’ basketball for two years.

Last year he was the athletic director at Carrabec.

He is Thornton’s associate director of student activities. Nelson oversees intramurals, develops a schedule of athletic events for the school’s dorm students, and teaches a history class.

“It’s just a great school and I feel fortunate to be back,” he said.

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com

Twitter: MikeLowePPH


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