SCARBOROUGH—On the heels of consecutive losses to regional rivals, Scarborough’s boys basketball team watched uncomfortably as a seemingly safe 18-point advantage was cut to just two by the visiting Gorham Rams Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

But the Red Storm didn’t buckle and they got back in the win column, earning a big dose of confidence in the process.

The Rams, the reigning Class AA South champions, held a 15-14 lead after one period, but a 3-point shot from junior Carter Blanche put Scarborough in front to stay and the Red Storm were up, 32-26, at the break, thanks in part to 11 points from junior Adam Fitzgerald and three 3-pointers from junior Will MacDonald.

Fitzgerald then buried four 3s in the third quarter, the last putting Scarborough in front, 54-36, but Gorham crept back within 12 on late 3s from sophomores Preston Brown and Brandon Levesque.

The Rams kept scratching and clawing in the fourth period and when Levesque drained a 3-ball from the corner with 1:42 on the clock, the deficit was just two, 59-57, but after junior E.J. Herrick made one free throw for the Red Storm, he went back to the line and sank two more and that helped slam the door on a 63-57 victory.

Scarborough got a game-high 26 points from Fitzgerald, 16 more from Blanche and a dozen from MacDonald as it improved to 3-2 on the season, dropping Gorham to 1-3 in the process.

“I think those two (losses) didn’t define us and I think this game was a real turning point for us,” said Fitzgerald, who came to Scarborough this year from Skowhegan. “I think we’re on the right track right now.”

Bombs away

A year ago, Gorham steamrolled its way to the Class AA South title, downing Scarborough three times along the way, 58-51 at home, 54-51 on the road, then 46-33 in the regional final. The Rams dropped an overtime heartbreaker to Windham in the state game, 62-58.

This winter, Gorham began with home losses to Windham (75-67) and Greely (56-53), but Tuesday, the Rams edged visiting Bonny Eagle (62-58) to get in the win column.

The Red Storm, meanwhile, started fast, downing host Bonny Eagle (67-50) and visiting Portland (61-53) before losing at home to South Portland (67-49) and Thornton Academy (66-59, in overtime).

Friday, in front of a good-sized crowd, Gorham looked to beat Scarborough again, but instead, the Red Storm solved the Rams for the first time since a quarterfinal round playoff overtime upset win in February, 2023.

Herrick started the scoring with a spinner off the glass, then Fitzgerald scored on a putback for a quick 4-0 lead.

After senior Griffin Gammon got the Rams on the board with two foul shots, Herrick kept possession with an offensive rebound, then set up Blanche for a 3.

Sophomore Colton Jewett answered with a 3-ball for Gorham, then Gammon tied the score with a jumper, but MacDonald sank his first 3 to give the Red Storm the lead back, 10-7.

After Jewett made a free throw, he hit a 3 to give the Rams their first advantage.

A Blanche leader put Scarborough back in front, but Brown drained a 3, Gammon made one free throw and while Herrick sank two foul shots with 34 seconds to go, Gorham clung to a 15-14 advantage after one period.

The Red Storm then moved in front to stay in the second quarter.

After senior Jack Karlonas made a layup for the Rams, Fitzgerald answered with a spinner and after Jewett drove for a layup, Herrick set up Fitzgerald for a 3-pointer with 5:46 remaining in the half, tying the score for the second and final time, 19-19.

Forty-one seconds later, Scarborough went on top for good, as in transition, MacDonald set up Blanche for a 3.

Fitzgerald then drove for a layup, forcing Gorham coach Ryan Deschenes to call timeout.

The Rams responded, as Brown sank a 3, but at the other end, Blanche found an open MacDonald, who buried a 3, then Fitzgerald took a pass from junior Layton Garriepy and made a layup for a seven-point lead.

Gorham crept back within one possession, as junior Atticus Whitten spun and finished and Gammon drove for a layup, but with 5 seconds remaining, Blanche set up MacDonald for a 3 from the corner and the Red Storm took a 32-26 advantage to the break.

In the first half, Fitzgerald led the way with 11 points, while MacDonald added nine and Blanche had eight.

Scarborough then seemingly opened up a healthy lead in the third quarter, but the Rams refused to fold.

Just eight seconds into the second half, Blanche took a backdoor feed from Garriepy and made a layup, but Whitten answered with a long 3.

Fitzgerald then kept possession alive with an offensive rebound, dribbled out beyond the 3-point arc and buried a shot.

The next time down, Herrick set up MacDonald for a 3-ball and the lead was double-digits for the first time, 40-29.

Gammon answered with a jumper in the lane, but Herrick set up Fitzgerald for another 3 and Deschenes had to call timeout again.

It helped initially, as Gammon scored on a floater in the lane, but Herrick found Fitzgerald for a long 3, then with 3:20 on the clock, Blanche drained another long 3 to make it 49-33.

Whitten countered with a 3, but after a Blanche jumper in the lane rolled in, Fitzgerald’s final 3-ball, off a feed from Herrick with 1:17 remaining in the frame, extended the advantage to 54-36.

“That third quarter, unfortunately, we let Fitzgerald get loose and hit four 3s and that gave them a little separation,” Deschenes said. “They already have one of the best backcourts in the state and tonight, (MacDonald) got four 3s as well. Guys like that shoot better at home and props to them.”

In the final minute, however, the Rams got 3s from Brown and Levesque and just like that, they had a little life heading to the final stanza, down by just a dozen, 54-42.

Scarborough was able to hold off Gorham’s comeback bid in the fourth period, but not without some anxious moments.

Gammon began the fourth with a jumper and after Blanche found Garriepy for a layup, Brown hit two free throws, then Gammon sank another before a Gammon jumper in traffic with 5:01 to go made it 56-49.

Fitzgerald countered with three points, but not his typical long-range shot. Instead, he drove for a layup, was fouled on the play, then added the and-one free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play, pushing the lead back to 10.

The Rams then surged, as Levesque hit a 3 from the corner, Levesque set up Karlonas for a layup and with 1:42 remaining, after a Gammon block at the defensive end, Karlonas found Levesque for another 3 to make the score 59-57.

That’s as close as Gorham would get, however, as its offensive output for the night was finished.

The Red Storm managed to run the clock down to 39.7 seconds, when Herrick was fouled.

Herrick made his first attempt, but missed the second, keeping it a one-possession game.

Whitten then had a look to tie it with a 3, but he missed and Herrick got the rebound and was fouled again.

With 20.7 seconds showing, Herrick went back to the line and this time, drained both shots to push the lead to five.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but once I calmed down, I was fine,” said Herrick. “We practice it all the time and I was confident. I was more comfortable the second time.”

“You’ve got to make your foul shots,” Scarborough coach Phil Conley said. “Especially up a few. E.J. made them. He’s tough. He’s played in big soccer games, so I felt confident when he went to the line.”

After Jewett missed a 3, Blanche got the rebound and was fouled and with just 5.9 seconds left, Blanche made one of two free throws to bring the curtain down on a 63-57 victory.

“We might have gotten a little too overconfident,” Herrick said. “We felt like we had the game in the bag. We had to slow down and play our game and we were fine. It was good to bounce back after two tough losses.”

“This is an inexperienced team at the varsity level, so we’re learning to win,” Conley said. “We let them crawl back in, but what I’m most proud of is how we responded when it was a two-point game. I thought we got tough on the defensive end and we protected the ball offensively and made our foul shots at the end. It definitely feels good. We needed a win after a loss to South Portland and a loss to TA in overtime after a great comeback.”

Fitzgerald made five 3-pointers and led all players with 26 points. He also had five rebounds.

“I got shots up and they were falling tonight,” said Fitzgerald. “Momentum plays a big part.”

“Adam’s one heck of a player,” Conley said. “His teammates get him the ball when he gets open. He made some big shots for us tonight.”

Blanche added 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

“Carter played very well tonight too,” Conley said. “He had some nice moves and 16 big points.”

MacDonald hit four 3s and tallied 12 points (to go with four rebounds), Herrick had seven points, six assists and five rebounds and Garriepy finished with two points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“Everyone’s in it for each other,” said Fitzgerald. “Once one player’s shot goes in, it encourages the rest.”

“I think it was a team win because we had other guys make some shots when we needed it,” Conley said.

Scarborough made a dozen 3s, hit 7-of-9 free throws and only turned the ball over six times all evening.

Gorham was paced by Gammon, who had 16 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.

“It’s a new role for Griffin,” said Deschenes. “Last year, he was primarily our center. This year, he’s playing more as a point forward and he’s really relishing that. He’s going to keep getting better and show what he can do in that role.”

Brown added 11 points, Jewett and Levesque each had nine, Whitten eight (to go with three assists and three rebounds) and Karlonas four (as well as five rebounds and two assists).

The Rams made 10 3s, had a 29-28 edge on the glass, hit 7-of-10 foul shots and turned the ball over on 12 occasions.

“We have new roles this year and we’re figuring it out,” said Deschenes. “We knew we were right there going to the fourth and we showed that. When the pace increased, we got better looks.”

In the hunt

The teams will meet again, Jan. 24, in Gorham, but both squads face some heavy lifting in the interim.

The Rams are at powerhouse Noble next Saturday, then finish up the calendar year with a home tilt versus Thornton Academy on Dec. 30. The new year begins with another shot against Windham, this time on the road.

“There’s a lot of good teams and we’ll keep learning,” Deschenes said. “We know we’ll be in a lot of close games this year. One good thing about Double-A is everyone makes (the tournament). We want to make sure we’re healthy at the end.”

Scarborough closes the 2024 portion of its schedule next Friday at Sanford, then it begins the new year with tests at South Portland and Deering.

“I think we’re back on the right track now,” Herrick said. “We have to keep working in practice and keep our heads.”

“It’s a work in progress and we want to play our best at the end,” said Conley. “I think we’re right in the mix. There’s a long way to go. If you look at the South standings, there’s a lot of teams with two losses. I like this group because they come ready to play every day. Our upside is there.”

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. 

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