WINDHAM – It took overtime and the emergence of a freshman for the Windham boys basketball team (2-6) to knock off the Gorham Rams (1-8) on Tuesday night. Despite a buzzer-beater by Gorham senior Carter Bowers to send the game into overtime, the Eagles were able to regain their composure and pull out a dramatic 56-51 win.

The Rams struggled at the outset as the Eagles raced out to a 14-4 first-quarter lead while Gorham struggled to hit jumpers and convert layups. The second quarter was a different story for the Eagles.

“At 14-4 you just claw back,” said Gorham coach Ryan Chicoine. “You do little things and you just keep playing. There’s still three quarters left.”

The Rams did more than claw back in the second as Ryan Sullivan and Bowers took control of the quarter while the Eagles were unable to find the basket. The Rams dominated the quarter, scoring 17 points while the Eagles managed just five as Gorham took a 21-19 lead into the halftime break.

Starting the third quarter, it appeared as if both teams had finally settled into a rhythm and neither was able to pull away, with both teams trading baskets up and down the court. While the Rams relied on Bowers and Sullivan, the Eagles turned to an unexpected performer to maintain their offensive attack.

Windham freshman Kevin Weisser lead the way for the Eagles with his sharp shooting from 3-point land, allowing Windham to retake the lead they had lost late in the second. Even with Weisser’s shooting, Gorham was able to receive contributions from four different players in the third to keep pace with the Eagles in the back-and-forth contest.

It appeared as though the game was going to head into the fourth with both teams deadlocked at 35 as the Rams inbounded the ball in the quarter’s final seconds. But a desperation heave from a Gorham player from 90 feet was rejected by the lanky Weisser.

Weisser was not done. After the block, he pulled the ball down and collected himself in time to get off a last second 15-footer that he promptly buried to give the Eagles a 37-35 lead heading into the fourth.

With neither team able to pull away, the close contest became sloppy as both teams got into foul trouble in the fourth. However, Gorham was able to convert eight free throws allowing them to take a four-point lead with less than two minutes to play. But the tide turned when the Eagles’ Tom McGowan was able to create a steal on the defensive end.

“I think the turning point for us was when Tommy McGowan was able to intercept that pass towards the end of regulation,” said Eagle coach Kevin Millington. “He came down and got an and-one and cut it to two and all of a sudden the game was back in reach again just when I thought the game might be out of reach. I thought after that we really had the momentum.”

For a moment it appeared as though the Eagles were going to pull off a win in regulation, as they were able to take a two-point lead in the final moments following a traveling violation on the Rams. But Bowers was there to squelch the Eagles’ plans for a regulation win.

On Gorham’s final trip up the court, Bowers found the ball in his hands just moments after missing a free throw that could have iced the game. This time, Bowers converted as he nailed a jumper as time expired to send the game into overtime.

The Rams could not keep pace with the Eagles as Weisser continued his hot shooting in overtime knocking down the extra session’s first jumper to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. The Eagles outscored the Rams 10-5 in overtime to escape with the win leaving Chicoine reflecting on his team’s performance.

“I know it’s hard to teach winning,” he said. “You either can win or you can’t, and it shows down the stretch. The good thing was this was a great game for my guys to learn a lot. We made a lot of mistakes, which is fine. We just got to learn from it and apply it to the next game.”

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