Portland 52

Bonny Eagle 47

For the second time this season the Bonny Eagle boys’ basketball team almost defeated Portland. Almost is not quite enough however.

The first time was back on December 19 when the Scots saw a one-point lead disappear when Andrew Duncanson hit the game-winner for Portland with five seconds to play. And more recently, on Thursday, Feb. 22, the teams renewed acquaintances in the Western Maine Class A semifinals. Bonny Eagle got as close as one point late in the fourth, but four Bulldog free throws sealed the win for top-ranked Portland.

Anthony Atkins singlehandedly kept the Scots chances alive in the first half with 15 of his 24 points coming in the first two quarters of the game.

“He’s had a wonderful season,” said Scots coach Rick Simonds. “I think he’s getting better. He’s our best passer in addition to our best scorer and he’s had a fine year. One thing that was demonstrated tonight is that he’s a leader. He was saying, pretty much, ‘jump on my back.’ At halftime I was asking ‘is anyone going to join him because he can’t carry us by himself.’ Someone had to step up and we never really found that.”

The Scots began their comeback in the third quarter. After trailing 31-22 at halftime the Scots spread the ball around and early in the third they scored seven straight points to claw their way back into it. They ended the quarter with a 6-2 run to get within three entering the fourth.

The Scots cut Portland’s lead to just a single point three different times in that final period, but were never able to overtake the Bulldogs. Twice they turned the ball over with a chance to pull ahead.

“We just never got the good look or good possession when we were down one with the ball,” Simonds said. “Too quickly we turned them over. If you take a good shot and miss it, so what, but we never got that opportunity.”

The Scots were forced to foul in order to save time on the clock. And the Bulldogs knocked down four crucial free throws to seal the win.

Earlier in the game, Bonny Eagle looked like they were the team to beat. They opened the game with a 7-0 run before Portland finally scored on a jumper by Duncanson. The Scots matched the Bulldogs step for step in the late stages of that opening quarter and were up by one with time expiring. With the buzzer about to sound, the Bulldogs’ Jake Longstaff launched a shot from halfcourt that bounced off the rim as the horn sounded and fell into the basket for three points. The shot gave Portland the lead and the momentum. The Bulldogs never trailed again.

“I cannot tell you how many shots like that have happened to us this year,” said Simonds. “Russ (Willette), my assistant, said as soon as that was let go ‘that’s in.’ We’ve had five or six of those go in against us. They’re not always 40-footers but maybe 25 or 30. And those are very painful. Sometimes there are 3-pointers that are worth four or five points. That might have been one of those.”

The Bulldogs went on to win the West A regional final on Saturday while the Scots were left thinking about next year. The team will be without Atkins as well as Scott Proudman, Ben Delcourt and James Hanley. One important member of the team who should be back next year is Mike Harmon.

“I think it was a season of maturation without a question,” Simonds said. “I thought we were very disjointed early in the season. I thought we played sloppy. We were disorganized and we lacked a point guard. I thought Mike Harmon developed over the course of the season. I thought at the end of the year we were as good as anybody. Tonight I think we showed we could play with anybody.

“I thought the last six, seven or eight games we made great improvements as evidenced by our record,” Simonds said. “I think this team came a long way over the course of the season and I think the seniors deserve to go out with their heads held high.”