SACO — It’s two theories that fans of Maine high school basketball debate constantly.

One theory is, if you have two scorers, you have a chance at a state championship. The other theory is, teams need a well-rounded starting five and a good bench to take home the gold ball.

Consider the Thornton Academy boys basketball team a practitioner of both schools of thought after its 81-68 win over Marshwood on Monday night.

The Golden Trojans used its two top scorers in forward Andrew Shaw and guard James Ek, and both produced, as Shaw scored a team-high 21 points. Ek was not far behind, finishing with 19 points.

While both put in leading-man performances, the supporting cast put on another impressive showing, of which has been consistent in the last few games.

“It was a great team performance,” Thornton head coach Robert Davies said. “The kids who came off the bench gave us some big minutes. We got in some foul trouble, and the kids produced.”

Monday night was no different. Trojan forwards Alex Richardson-Newton and Eric Christensen both scored nine points off the bench, and guard Justin Pollard brought the Trojans back after trailing 38-37 at halftime by scoring all of his 12 points in the third quarter. Thornton’s two point guards – Adam Ek and Corbett Smith – ran the floor to perfection the entire evening.

“Our bench guys and Adam, Corbett, those guys went on a [13-0] run, and that was huge for us,” Shaw said.

The play of the supporting cast also gives the team confidence heading down the stretch into the playoffs.

“It’s huge for us,” Shaw said. “A lot of these teams in the SMAA have got depth, so we need guys to step up, and a lot of guys stepped up tonight. Newton, Pollard, Pollard hit two [3-pointers], and had a couple of fast break layups. We played well as a team.”

The win continues to help Thornton (8-3) in Heal Points, as the Trojans are in third place in Western Class A.

Marshwood (6-5) came to the Linnell Gym ready to play, and proved it immediately, outrebounding Thornton in the first half, while Hawks forward Matt Crosby and guard Jack Verrill went shot-for-shot with Shaw and James Ek. Marshwood headed into the locker rooms at halftime with a 38-37 lead, much to the frustration of the Thornton bench.

“In the first half, we gave some easy baskets,” Davies said. “Really, we needed to concentrate defensively, rebounding and jumping passing lanes, jumping the basket. It’s not an adjustment, we try to do it all game long, I think we just did a better job in the second half.”

The Trojans came back immediately, thanks to the play of Pollard, who nailed consecutive 3-pointers to give the lead back to the Trojans, who would go on a 13-0 run late in the quarter, with both James Ek and Shaw on the bench, and never look back.

“Anytime you can have two of your better players on the bench and [the team] is putting up more points than when they are in, that’s great,” James Ek said. “I think that’s a real testament to how deep of a team we are. They all play hard, everyone plays hard on this team, and they gave it their all when they were in.”

For a role player like Richardson-Newton, who scored five of his nine points in the second half, only one thought was on his mind.

“Just battle, battle the whole time,” Richardson-Newton said. “That’s the whole team concept, too. Just keep battling for boards, just outwork our opponent.”

Foul trouble killed the Hawks in the fourth quarter. Thornton sealed the game by knocking 15 of its final 19 points from the foul line.

Crosby finished with a game-high 23 points, while Verrill chipped in 15 points. But as a group, the Hawks received much respect from the Trojans.

“I think they’re going to be real contenders next year,” James Ek said. “The two juniors, Verrill and Crosby are great players. I think they have a real good future down there. They’ve got good role players as well, but I was really impressed. I think they going to impress some people come tournament time.”

The Trojans won’t have long to enjoy the win. They hit the road today for a game against Kennebunk. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Thornton will look to continue the defensive output of the second half on Monday night.

“Rebound or block it out and run, that’s what we want to do night in a night out,” Richardson-Newton said.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.