PORTLAND—Not many pundits gave Portland’s boys basketball team a chance in Thursday afternoon’s Class AA North semifinal round tournament game at the Cross Insurance Arena.

The third-seeded Bulldogs were just a .500 team during the regular season and they faced the daunting task of going up against No. 2 Windham, the reigning state champion, but Portland was up to the challenge.

Even if the Bulldogs ultimately fell just short.

Portland started strong, as junior Cordell Jones had eight points to help produce a 17-14 lead after one quarter, but Windham, behind the sizzling shooting of junior Tyrie James, came to life in the second period and by halftime enjoyed a 33-24 advantage.

Throughout the second half, the Bulldogs attempted runs, but on every occasion, the Eagles countered.

Portland drew within six in the third quarter, but Windham opened up a 48-35 lead after a James putback at the horn.

On four different occasions in the fourth period, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to seven, but every time, the Eagles answered and they went on to a 65-56 victory.

James led the way with 23 points as Windham improved to 16-4, advanced to take on No. 4 Edward Little (13-7) in the Class AA North Final Saturday at 2:45 p.m., at the Cross Insurance Arena, and in the process, ended Portland’s season at 10-10.

“I’m disappointed we’re not moving on, but from where we started the season  to our effort today, I’m as proud of these guys as I was some of the state championship teams,” said longtime Bulldogs coach Joe Russo.

“Portland’s a great team,” Windham coach Chad Pulkkinen said. “Russo has a billion wins. I have a ton of respect for him. It’s always awesome to play against him because his teams will be prepared and that challenges us and only makes our guys better.”

A 32-minute battle

While Windham was expected to advance deep in the playoffs, Portland reaching this round came as a surprise to many.

The Bulldogs started with a 65-60 loss at Bangor, then fell at 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 Windham (56-49), the Bulldogs downed visiting Sanford (63-54) before falling short at Lewiston (56-52) and at South Portland (70-48). After going to overtime to survive visiting Bangor, 49-46, Portland downed visiting Deering (60-41) and host Edward Little (52-31). After losing at Thornton Academy (47-38) and at home to Marshwood (30-28), the Bulldogs caught fire and downed visiting Lewiston (47-31), host Oxford Hills (62-42) and visiting South Portland, 46-38, before closing the regular season with a 58-43 setback at Cheverus.

A week ago Wednesday, the Bulldogs ousted No. 6 Oxford Hills (56-38) in the quarterfinals, giving Russo his 500th career victory.

Windham, meanwhile, started by beating Lewiston (85-54), then downed Gorham in a state game rematch (75-67) and defeated Edward Little (78-56), Portland (56-49), Cheverus (59-55), Oxford Hills (75-55), Gorham (78-48) and Bangor (68-38) before falling from the unbeaten ranks with a 55-54 home loss to South Portland. The Eagles bounced back by downing Marshwood (68-62) and Scarborough (73-70), then rallied from 15-points down in the fourth quarter to shock Falmouth, 75-72. After an 81-65 win over Bangor, Windham was stunned at Oxford Hills (70-65), then lost at home to Cheverus (66-51) and to Lewiston (49-46) before closing with home wins over Scarborough (57-45) and Deering (68-56).

The Eagles dispatched seventh-seeded Bangor, 76-40, in their quarterfinal last week.

In the teams’ regular season meeting, Dec. 21, Windham held on for a seven-point win behind 19 points from James. Sophomore Maddox Meas paced the Bulldogs with 10 points.

Portland and Windham had split four prior playoff meetings, with the Eagles 43-34, come-from-behind win in last year’s Class AA North Final the most recent.

Thursday, the Bulldogs made the Eagles sweat, but they would eventually do enough to survive and advance.

James came out sizzling, as just six seconds into the contest, he took a pass from Moody and drained a 3.

“The first shot got me going,” said James.

After the Bulldogs got layups from senior Devin Walker (set up by Meas) and Jones, James buried another long 3 for a 6-4 lead.

James then took a pass from senior Conor Janvrin and made a reverse layup for eight points in less than three minutes.

“I felt like my teammates were just making extra passes and everyone was involved,” said James. “We created space and when we move the ball like that, we feel like everyone can eat.”

Again, Portland responded, as junior Lucas LeGage drove for a layup, then Meas banked home a runner.

James set up Moody for a 3, but at the other end, Jones took a pass from LeGage and sank a 3 to tie it, 11-11, with 3:26 to go in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs then went in front on a Jones free throw, followed by a Jones driving layup and an old-fashioned three-point play (layup, foul, free throw) from LeGage to make it 17-11.

And then, Windham flipped the switch.

Sophomore Colin Janvrin turned the tide with a 3 in the final minute of the first quarter to pull the Eagles within three, then they continued to soar in the second period.

A long Colin Janvrin 3 tied the score, then senior Creighty Dickson drove for a layup to put Windham ahead to stay.

After Dickson stole the ball and set up James for a layup, Russo called timeout, but out of the break, in transition, Moody set up James for yet another 3 and a 24-17 lead.

A free throw from Meas ended the 13-0 run and a 4 minute, 12 second scoring drought, but Dickson made a free throw, missed the second, but stole the ball back and was fouled again before making one-of-two attempts.

With 4:21 left in the half, LeGage hit a 3 to pull Portland within five, but James countered with another 3, from the corner.

After Dickson was sidelined with his third foul, Walker fed junior Loic Ramazani for a layup, then Meas added a free throw, but James’ fifth 3 of the half, followed by a free throw from senior Braycen Freese with 3 seconds to go, made it 33-24 Eagles at the half.

James led the way with 19 points, while Moody scored just three points, but grabbed seven rebounds, stole the ball four times and dished out three assists.

The Bulldogs got out to an auspicious start to the second half, as Jones stole the ball and fed LeGage for a layup and LeGage added a foul shot.

After Freese drove for a layup, Jones fed Meas on the fastbreak for a layup with 4:53 left in the third quarter, making the score 35-29.

As it would the entire second half, Windham responded, as Conor Janvrin scored on a leaner, then buried a 3 before James fed Moody on the fastbreak for a layup and a 42-29 advantage.

Jones hit a free throw, but Dickson took a pass from Moody and made a layup to extend the lead to 14.

After LeGage was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and sank all three subsequent free throws, James stole the ball and passed to Dickson for a layup.

Inside the final minute, Jones sank two foul shots, but as time expired, James put back a missed shot to send the Eagles to the fourth period up, 48-35.

The Bulldogs made another run as the final stanza began, getting a driving layup from Meas, a jumper from Jones and a free throw from sophomore Alex Martin to pull within eight, but James drove for a layup and after LeGage sank two free throws, Dickson drove for a layup to make it 52-42.

After a free throw from Meas, James fed Dickson for a layup to make it an 11-point game with 4:29 on the clock.

Jones countered with a free throw, then LeGage buried a corner 3 to make it 54-47, but Dickson found senior Joseph Blige for a layup.

After junior Benilson Lumani made a layup, Colin Janvrin delivered a clutch 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining, as his shot rattled around and in to push the lead to 59-49.

“Tyrie made a big difference, but I want to give credit to (Janvrin) because he hit a dagger shot,” Russo said.

After LeGage drove for a layup, Moody made two free throws.

With 56.1 seconds remaining, Meas converted a three-point play and Portland got the ball back with a chance to make things really interesting, but LeGage missed a 3.

With 16.6 seconds on the clock, Freese sank two clutch free throws to essentially salt it away.

A Lumani putback with 8 seconds remaining accounted for the Bulldogs’ final tally and two Moody free throws with 2.6 seconds left brought the curtain down on Windham’s 65-56 triumph.

“It means the world to us,” Moody said. “We worked so hard for this. All the guys beside me fought for it all season. We knew nothing would come easily against a good Portland team. We knew it would be a dogfight and it surely was, but we came out with brotherhood and we did it. ”

“We realized that this could be our last game together and I think that really helped us push through,” James said.

James was superb with 23 points. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. After missing four games late in the season with an ankle injury (the Eagles lost three of them), James is thrilled to be back and as he was a year ago in Windham’s title run, he’s a difference-maker.

“He’s like an angel sent from heaven,” said Moody. “He’s pretty much my little brother. We do everything together. When he hits 3s, it’s game over. When he’s hot, we just find him and he stays hot. Losing one of our teammates was not ideal. It’s great to have him back. Not having him there, we still worked as a team. We had a losing streak, then we got better. We started winning and then he came back and it was even better.”

“We’re a tight-knit group and we want all of our kids healthy,” Pulkkinen said. “The guys felt for Tyrie when he was out and having him back in there brings a lot of confidence to our group. He missed four games, so he was ready to play. He was excited to be here. He was one of our best players last year in our run. He has the composure of an elite player. He makes the right decisions every time.”

Dickson added 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Moody was superb with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.

“AJ is one of the strongest kids I know and he’s such a great leader for this group,” Pulkkinen said. “He means the world to these kids.”

Colin Janvrin also had nine points, Freese and Conor Janvrin (four rebounds, two blocked shots) added five apiece and Blige had two.

“We always say, we trust the five on the court,” Pulkkinen said. “We think all the guys are threats. That makes it tough for the other team. We get opportunities moving the ball.”

The Eagles hit 10 3-pointers to the Bulldogs’ three, made 9-of-13 free throws and only turned the ball over 11 times.

Looking ahead to Saturday, Windham beat visiting Edward Little, 78-56, way back on Dec. 13. The Red Eddies are riding high after upsetting top-ranked Cheverus (47-44) in their semifinal Thursday.

The Eagles will have their hands full Saturday, but can’t wait for the opportunity to punch their ticket to states yet again.

“We’re going to work hard tomorrow in practice and we’ll push each other to get better,” James said. “We enjoy the time we have together. We just have to maximize it. I feel like this group can do it. We all love each other.”

“We have to keep grinding,” James said. “We just have to play like us. It’s us versus ourselves. I don’t want to compare this to last year, but winning the Gold Ball last year brought the community out for us. This year has just been great. How the community cheer for us is just unbelievable.”

“When you get to this stage, everybody’s a tough opponent,” added Pulkkinen. “We’ve got an opportunity to have one more day together and prepare. This group has gone through a lot of adversity on and off the court. They’ve stuck together. It doesn’t take much to motivate these guys. They thrive in these big moments. They’ve developed a program that everyone in the community and alumni can be proud of.”

Bulldogs pride

Portland was paced by LeGage, who went off for 21 points. Jones (14 points, seven rebounds, three assists) and Meas (12 points, seven rebounds, three assists) also wound up in double figures.

Lumani had four points (to go with five rebounds and two blocks), Ramazani and Walker (seven rebounds) added two apiece and Martin finished with one.

The Bulldogs had a 31-28 edge on the glass and made 17-of-25 free throws, but turned the ball over 15 times and never could get quite close enough to make Windham panic down the stretch.

“We did everything we could possibly do,” Russo said. “We missed some shots that were good shots that could have made a difference. (Windham’s) experience showed. They’re a solid team, but we played with confidence. We knew they’d speed us up and we’d have to shoot faster and we did that.

“I mentioned to the kids that it was a borderline remarkable effort. The guys worked hard today. You always measure the season on improvement. This team definitely overachieved. For a team that didn’t win a state or regional championship, our improvement was great.”

Portland graduates Walker, but everyone else who saw time Thursday will be back next winter and the Bulldogs will be starting from a stronger place.

That could mean a deeper run a year from now.

“They’re pretty much all coming back and hey have a lot of work to do,” said Russo. “Now, we can get down and do what we want to do better. The kids tasted what it feels like to improve and what it feels like to win.”

BOX SCORE

Windham 65 Portland 56

P- 17 7 11 21- 56
W- 14 19 15 17- 65

P- LeGage 6-7-21, Jones 4-5-14, Meas 4-4-12, Lumani 2-0-4, Ramazani 1-0-2, Walker 1-0-2, Martin 0-1-1

W- James 9-0-23, Dickson 5-2-12, Colin Janvrin 3-0-9, Moody 2-4-9, Freese 1-3-5, Conor Janvrin 2-0-5, Blige 1-0-2

3-pointers:
P (3) LeGage 2, Jones
W (10) James 5, Colin Janvrin 3, Conor Janvrin, Moody

Turnovers:
P- 15
W- 11

Free throws
P: 17-25
W: 9-13