Pitia Donato’s offensive rebound and two free throws with 2.9 seconds left helped No. 2 Portland turn back an upset bid by seventh-seeded Windham as the Bulldogs held on for a 49-46 win in a Class AA North boys’ basketball quarterfinal Thursday night.
The Bulldogs (14-5) will take on No. 3 Lewiston in the semifinals next Thursday at Cross Insurance Arena.
Adrian Moody scored eight first-quarter points and Windham (5-14) had a 16-13 advantage at quarter’s end. But the Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 run in the second quarter before Windham rallied to make it 23-23 at the half.
Portland scored the first six points of the second half, but the Eagles answered with a 10-0 run, then took a 36-34 advantage to the fourth quarter after Creighty Dickson converted a three-point play at the horn.
The Bulldogs went ahead to stay on a 3-pointer from Pepito Girumugisha with 4:44 to play. Windham got within one point four different times after that but fell just short, as Blake McPherson’s three-quarter-court heave at the horn grazed the front of the rim.
Kevin Rugabirwa led all scorers with 15 points. Remijo Wani added eight for Portland.
The Eagles were paced by 11 points from Moody.
THORNTON ACADEMY 86, MASSABESIC 25: Trey Eldred led five double-figure scorers with 16 points as the top-seeded Golden Trojans (16-3) routed the No. 8 Mustangs (0-19) in a Class AA South quarterfinal at Saco.
Will Davies (14 points), Alessio Marcus (13), Damir Huskic (11) and Braden Camire (10) also reached double figures as Thornton advanced to a semifinal next Thursday at Cross Insurance Arena against No. 4 Bonny Eagle.
LEWISTON 57, EDWARD LITTLE 31: Yusuf Dakane scored 28 points as the third-seeded Blue Devils (14-5) beat the No. 6 Red Eddies (6-13) in a Class AA North quarterfinal at Lewiston.
Eli St. Laurent led Edward Little with 13 points.
OXFORD HILLS 72, BANGOR 55: Teigan Pelletier led the top-ranked Vikings (17-2) with 23 points in a Class AA North quarterfinal win against the eighth-seeded Rams (2-17) in Paris.
Holden Shaw chipped in with 16 points and Cole Pulkkinen had 12 for Oxford Hills, which next faces Cheverus or Hampden Academy in the semifinals next Thursday at Cross Insurance Arena.
Wyatt Stevens paced Bangor with 18 points. Matt Holmes added 12 and Ryan Ford had 11.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
SANFORD 53, NOBLE 19: Riley Hebler and Julissa McBarron each scored 14 points to lead the second-seeded Spartans (13-6) over the seventh-seeded Knights (0-19) in a Class AA South quarterfinal at Sanford.
Addie Fiandaca chipped in with seven points for Sanford, which advances to face No. 3 Gorham in the semifinals Wednesday at Cross Insurance Arena.
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