Jeff Manchester lit up the court from every angle and almost every distance, scoring 23 points Friday as Gorham (15-3) held off a late surge from Bonny Eagle (10-8), 56-52, in Standish.

The senior guard seemed to have complete control of the game, played on the Scots’ “Senior Night,” especially during the third period, dumping in 11 of his team’s 16 points in the period.

“We simply could not guard him,” said Scots junior Adam Theriault. “My job was to go out and stand in front of him.”

Theriault was a story himself. The junior guard has played very few minutes this year, overshadowed by more aggressive scorers in juniors Ben Delcourt and Scott Proudman. But Theriault emerged as an energetic and active defensive player throughout the night.

“I just really wanted to win that game,” he said. “With (a win) we wouldn’t be stuck in a low seed for playoffs.”

Theriault’s self-motivation was an boost for his team, as the Rams went into the game with a motion offense that seemed to confuse Bonny Eagle’s zone defense.

Gorham spread the floor, ran without the ball and passed numerous times before taking each shot, only to expose a weakness in the Scots’ defense each time.

And each time they scored, the visiting fans who had invaded the Bonny Eagle gymnasium roared louder and louder.

The Rams found scoring attempts on the inside through senior Josh Tanguay, who racked up 12 points in the paint, which coincided nicely with his guards’ motion offense.

Gorham appeared to be in control throughout the first three quarters, building a 49-34 lead at that point. But then Theriault was given the job of covering Gorham’s biggest scoring threat and – with active feet and quick thinking – he slowed Manchester’s attack.

On one particular play, Theriault leaped and fully extended to knock away a Gorham pass, landing solidly on his hip. As Gorham recovered the knock-away and attempted another quick pass, somehow Theriault leaped to his feet and again fully extended his body upward to knock the ball to Proudman.

That single play swung momentum in Bonny Eagle’s favor, and the Scots opened the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run to close the gap to one point.

Bonny Eagle big men Casey McKague and Anthony Atkins took charge, each scoring five points. Guard Andrew Dean came through for Gorham, scoring his team’s only points for the entire period – seven total.

The teams remained close, but with a minute remaining the scoreboard inadvertently had Bonny Eagle ahead by two instead of down by one.

Though the mistake was quickly corrected, it caused Dean to take a top-of-the-key three-point shot instead of slowing the game down. The junior hit the jumper to solidify the Gorham victory.

The Scots, ranked eighth, were scheduled to host ninth-seeded Kennebunk (10-8) in a preliminary-round game Tuesday.

The Rams, who finished in the number four spot, are off until a regional quarterfinal match-up Monday against fifth-seeded Marshwood (13-5) at the Cumberland County Civic Center.