PORTLAND—The Portland-Deering boys basketball rivalry dates to the Taft Administration.

And through all the years, the play on the court was always the focal point.

Thursday evening at the Portland Exposition Building, however, outside forces overshadowed the game and ultimately, shortened it in the process.

The Bulldogs couldn’t have asked for a better start, as they raced to a 15-1 lead after one quarter, forcing eight turnovers in the process.

The Rams ultimately settled in, but by halftime, thanks in part to a dozen points from junior sharpshooter Lucas LeGage, Portland held a commanding 29-10 advantage.

Deering hoped to answer, but the Bulldogs were still in front, 34-18, with 4:42 to go in the third period when a fight broke out in the stands and a subsequent melee forced play to be halted for a half hour.

The game eventually resumed and despite being down by 17 points, 39-22, as the fourth quarter began, the Rams refused to buckle and an old-fashioned three-point play from junior Michel Butera with 3:29 remaining, pulled Deering within just 10, 47-37.

That’s as close as the Rams would get, however, as a LeGage 3 served as a dagger and Portland pushed its lead back to 20.

With 1:21 on the clock and Deering junior Rudwan Mohamud at the line, having just made a free throw, another disturbance broke out at the other end of the building and the officials immediately ruled the game over and the Bulldogs prevailed, 60-41.

LeGage led the way with 26 points as Portland won its second game in a row, beat the Rams for the ninth consecutive time, improved to 5-6 on the season and in the process, snapped Deering’s two-game win streak and dropped it to 4-6.

“Any win is helpful,” said longtime Bulldogs coach Joe Russo, after his 495th career victory. “Deering, to me, could still be the best team in the South. Once we believe in ourselves, I think we can be a good team.”

Blistering start

Both teams struggled for most of the first half of the season but are primed to make a run in the second half.

The Bulldogs started with losses at Bangor (65-60), Scarborough (61-53) and at home to Cheverus (46-38). Portland got in the win column with an overtime victory at Deering (56-52), then edged host Kennebunk (38-37). After losing at home to reigning Class AA champion Windham in a regional final rematch (56-49), the Bulldogs downed visiting Sanford (63-54) before falling short at Lewiston (56-52) and at South Portland (70-48). Tuesday, Portland had to go to overtime to survive visiting Bangor, 49-46.

As for the Rams, they dropped a tough 66-60 overtime decision at Cheverus in their opener, then edged host Westbrook (58-56) before falling in overtime again, 56-52, to visiting Portland. After losing to visiting Noble (59-47), Deering was no match for visiting Falmouth (68-42). The Rams got back on track with a 78-33 win at Bangor, then let a fourth quarter lead slip away in a 69-60 home loss to South Portland before righting the ship with home wins over Scarborough (50-49) and Sanford (76-56).

In the first meeting, Dec. 17, junior Loic Ramazani played the hero with 18 points and 11 rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocked shots and LeGage added 13 points.

Thursday, in the teams’ 241st meeting since 1911, Deering sought its first win over Portland since March 9, 2021, but instead, the Bulldogs took care of business again in a game which was halted 81 seconds sooner than expected.

Portland went in front to stay with 6:29 to go in the first quarter as senior Devin Walker scored on a contested leaner.

After junior Cordell Jones put home his own missed shot, sophomore Maddox Meas stole the ball and set up LeGage for his first points, a layup.

With 3:51 on the clock, Ramazani stole the ball and set up LeGage for another layup to make it 8-0, forcing Rams’ coach Todd Wing to call timeout.

It didn’t help, as junior Benilson Lumani scored on a putback and sophomore Ricardo Cango stole the ball and set up Ramazani for another layup, forcing Wing to call timeout again.

This time, Deering managed to break the ice, as senior Evan Legassey made the second of two free throws with 40.4 seconds left in the frame, but at the other end, Jones found LeGage for a 3-pointer and a staggering 15-1 lead.

“When I hit my first shot, it gets me going,” LeGage said. “It helps momentum and my teammates got me the ball in spots where I was open. That made it easy.”

In the first eight minutes, Portland forced nine turnovers, registered eight steals and four blocked shots and got seven points from LeGage.

“When most people think about basketball, they think about the flashy highlights and the scoring, but what I think gets us going is when we get a strong defensive stop and then we just go downcourt, it’s demoralizing to the other team,” Walker said.

“We came out ready to play, which was nice to see,” Russo said. “We also came out focused. The kids knew what was going on and I loved that energy. That set the tone.”

“Joe had his guys prepared,” said Wing. “They pressured our ball-handlers.”

Walker opened the second quarter with a 3- point shot, then with 5:15 remaining in the half, LeGage sank two free throws for a stunning 20-1 lead.

Twenty-one seconds later, Deering mustered its first field goal, a putback from senior Mogga Yanga, but LeGage countered with a 3 from the corner (set up by Jones), then Ramazani made a layup after a steal before a Jones steal after a layup made the score 27-3 with 4:13 left in the half.

The Rams countered with a 3-pointer from Mohamud and a layup from junior Tayshaun Cleveland.

After Walker sank two foul shots for Portland, a reverse layup from senior David Otti pulled Deering within 29-10 at halftime.

In the first half, LeGage led all scorers with 12 points and the Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers and as they build a comfortable lead.

But no lead is safe this year for Portland and sure enough, the Rams would make things interesting in a second half which would be delayed and eventually abbreviated.

Butera began the third quarter with two free throws which were answered by two foul shots from Ramazani.

After senior Tavian Lauture set up Cleveland for a layup, Legassey drove and banked home a shot, but LeGage calmly countered with a 3 from the corner.

With 4:42 on the clock, Legassey was fouled and went to the line. He made his first free throw and as he prepared for the second, commotion developed in the section behind the teams’ benches and a fight broke out as Legassey sank his second attempt.

Before play could be resumed, a mass of humanity had to be separated and Portland police were called into action to support the Expo’s security staff.

While that disturbing situation was developing, the players and coaches retreated downstairs to their respective locker rooms.

“I tip my hat to all the kids for keeping their cool, all the coaches for getting the kids off (the court), all the police,” Wing said. “Both teams were able to regroup.”

“I’m glad (the officials) didn’t call it early,” Russo said. “I used that time to review press-breakers because I knew Deering would come out and make us play fast. We get sped up sometimes and we do self-inflicted things. I said, ‘OK, the score is 0-0.’ We told them to stay focused and we had a game to play.”

Finally, after a 25-minute delay and a five-minute warmup period, play resumed.

LeGage hit a pullup jumper, but Cleveland answered with two free throws.

After Meas got a jumper to roll in, senior Justin Jamal made two foul shots for the Rams.

With 23.6 seconds to go, Ramazani made one-of-two free throws and the lengthy third quarter came to a close with Portland still up by a healthy margin, 39-22.

Deering then made things most interesting in the fourth period.

Legassey got things started with a 3, then he made a free throw.

After LeGage made a layup, Jamal drove for a layup, then junior Corbin Burke scored on a putback to cut the deficit to 11.

Jones fed LeGage for another layup, but Legassey countered by driving and finishing with his left hand.

LeGage made a breakaway layup, but Lauture tipped home a miss.

After Jones drove for a layup, Butera’s three-point play (layup, foul, free throw) with 3:29 to go brought the Rams back within 47-37.

But they would get no closer.

With 2:58 remaining, Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked the ball out to LeGage, who delivered a 3 which turned momentum for good.

“When I hit that shot there, the energy in the building went our way,” said LeGage.

After Jones set up Ramazani for a layup, Lumani scored on a putback, Cango made one-of-two free throws, Cango hit another foul shot, then, after Lumani grabbed a rebound, he fed Cango for a layup to make it 58-37.

With 1:49 left, Mohamud knocked down a 3, but Portland broke the press and Lumani set up Walker for a layup and Portland’s final points.

With 1:21 remaining, Mohamud was fouled and as he was knocking down his first free throw, another confrontation broke out at the far end of the arena and at 8:32 p.m., the officials didn’t hesitate and ruled that the game was over, giving Portland a 60-41 victory.

“I think we just came into the game with a mindset that we had to just bring it,” said Walker. “This is one of the biggest rivalries we play in. We knew we had to play strong and we did that.”

“It’s a lot of fun to beat Deering,” said LeGage, whose father, Dan LeGage, was a longtime Rams coach, leading them to their lone two state titles and is now a Bulldogs assistant. “We knew we had to come out and out-hustle them and have good communication. We knew if we stayed together as a team, we could beat them. It was just a combination of good defense and good offense. We were moving the ball. It was a team effort.”

“Sometimes you get a big lead and it’s not always fun,” Russo added. “The kids can play not to lose and they can get complacent. We rushed the ball and made too many quick passes and didn’t read the defense, but every time (Deering) got close, we seemed to make a shot to keep the cushion. Our inexperience showed tonight when they made that comeback, so it was nice to get those close hoops.”

Lucas LeGage went off for a game-high 26 points.

Ramazani (seven steals, six rebounds, three assists) and Walker (six rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals) added nine points apiece.

“Devin played a smart game,” Russo said. “He does everything we ask him to do and more. He doesn’t have to score for us. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a leader out there. His rebounds were huge.”

Cango (three steals), Jones (six rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block), Lumani (six rebounds, two assists) and Meas (five rebounds and two assists) all contributed four points.

“I like the guys off the bench, how they helped tonight,” Russo said.

Portland enjoyed a 36-30 advantage on the glass, overcame 22 turnovers and 9-of-18 foul shooting.

Deering’s offense was paced by Legassey, who had 11 points, to go with three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Mohamud added seven points off the bench, Cleveland had six points, Butera five, Jamal four (to go with four rebounds) and Burke (eight rebounds), Lauture (six rebounds, two steals), Otti and Yanga two apiece.

The Rams made 12-of-22 free throws (hitting just 3-of-10 in the fourth quarter) and turned the ball over 23 times.

“Through this rock fight, we stayed healthy and the guys held their heads high,” Wing said. “It’s something we’ve never seen before, but we tried to respond and gave ourselves a chance, but we had to gamble too much and dug too deep a hole. It’s unlike us to shoot free throws like that. Free throws, offensive rebounds, those things added up.”

Road warriors

Deering (ranked sixth in Class AA South) welcomes Bonny Eagle Saturday, then has key road tilts at Gorham and South Portland next week.

“We’ve got to regroup,” said Wing. “The South is wide open. South Portland’s playing really, really well, but when it comes to playoffs, it will come down to matchups. We want to put ourselves in the driver’s seat and I think we still can.

“All is not lost.”

Portland (now ranked fourth in the Class AA North Heal Points standings) is at Edward Little Saturday, then has road games against Sanford and Thornton Academy next week.

“Most of our games have been close and now, we have more experience,” LeGage said. “As we go on, I think we’ll start finishing games.”

“We only have two or three returning varsity players, so the beginning of the season has been a learning experience,” said Walker. “We’ve realized what we have to do and we’re focusing on our weaknesses and we’ve honed in on our strengths. I feel like we can use that momentum to go into a playoff push.”

“If we can keep this energy and excitement going, we could have a nice second half of the season,” Russo added. “We’re starting to believe we can achieve.”

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

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