PORTLAND — The top-seeded South Portland boys basketball team would overcome a 10-point deficit to top No. 2 Thornton Academy 71-61 in overtime in the Class AA South Finals, punching its ticket to the state finals for the second straight year.

Trailing 10 points in the second quarter and nine at the half, the Red Riots would tighten the screws defensively in the second half and get shots in the paint to chip away at the TA lead. After trailing for most of the game, South Portland would finally tie the score with 6:33 remaining in regulation, and eventually force overtime.

South Portland cruised in the extra period thanks to efficient rebounding, and managed to outpace the Trojans 13-3 to secure the win. South Portland also earned 18 second chance shots, dominating in the paint down the stretch.

Riley Hassan kicked things off in OT by scoring a quick 3-pointer for South Portland, which gave the Red Riots the momentum the rest of the way.

“They’re warriors these guys, that’s how it’s been all year,” said South Portland coach Kevin Millington. “If TA hits a three to begin then maybe it’s different, but we hit the three. These kids are winners, all we had to do was get in front and we weren’t in front for awhile in the game.”

The Red Riots were led by Ansel Stilley, who scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half along with 10 rebounds. Ruay Bol also added 18 points and Hassan 17.

David Keohan led the Trojans with a game-high 21 points, while Austin Boudreau chipped in 17 in the loss.

The difference in the game was second-half shooting for the Red Riots. After shooting just over 30 percent in the first half, South Portland would shoot 50 percent the rest of the way, thanks to tough play in the paint and five timely 3-pointers.

TA coach Robert Davies felt that South Portland’s schematic adjustments troubled the Trojans late in the game.

“The first half they pressed and we handled the press, the second half they didn’t press. The kids played hard, but they ended up scoring more points than we did … we just weren’t able to finish them off,” said Davies.

South Portland was confident despite trailing 30-21 at half, and knew that their best effort was yet to come.

“We just said at the halftime that there wasn’t a lot of adjustments to make, it was just grind, grind, grind, grind,” said Millington. “Play our game which is outworking people. Once we played our game, TA got tired and they got into some foul trouble that helped, and our depth helped.”

The Trojans finish the year with 17-3 overall record, while South Portland improves to 17-3. The Red Riots will take on North champ Portland in a rematch of last year’s state title clash, when the Bulldogs prevailed in double OT.

Davies was proud of his club’s effort as well as its development throughout the season.

“We got a lot better throughout the whole year … we would have loved to go win, but the kids gave it everything they have, that’s all you can ask of them.”

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