PORTLAND – Justin Pollard’s steal along the 3-point stripe with 10 seconds left served two purposes Thursday night at the Expo.

First, it squelched Portland’s last hope, allowing Thornton Academy to escape with a 63-61 victory in a Southern Maine Athletic Association boys’ basketball game.

Second, it provided a snapshot of the Golden Trojans’ tough defense that proved the difference.

“We just came out and played our game, play defense like we mean it,” said Pollard, who led the Trojans with 24 points. “We were motivated to step up and play together as a team.”

The Trojans, who were ranked eighth in Western Class A, regained the lead for the fourth and final time with about 20 seconds left on Jeff Gelinas’ 3-point play. He was fouled on a drive along the baseline and sank the free throw for a 62-59 lead.

Portland, which was forced into outside shooting for much of the night by Thornton’s sagging man-to-man defense, worked the perimeter for a tying 3-point shot. That’s when Pollard knocked away a pass, came up with the ball and effectively ended the game.

After a timeout, Adam Ek (eight points) sank 1 of 2 free throws with 7.4 seconds left to ice it.

“We did just enough to not get blown out,” said Portland Coach Joe Russo. “We didn’t play well. We didn’t rebound, we didn’t shoot well, and we didn’t play any defense. We let them dictate the flow of the game.”

Peter Donato led third-ranked Portland with 16 points, including 14 in the second half. Justin Zukowski had 15 and Nick Volger 11.

“We worked hard for four quarters,” said Thornton Coach Bob Davies. “We were fortunate that the ball went through the basket more often for us than it did for them.”

The Bulldogs (8-3) saw a seven-game winning streak come to an end, one game after Russo recorded his 300th career win in 22 seasons at Portland High.

The school confirmed the milestone in recent days, and presented Russo with a game ball from their 61-57 win over South Portland last Friday night.

Reason for the Bulldogs to celebrate ended at tip-off.

“We got what we deserved,” said Volger. “We didn’t move on defense or offense, we were just standing around.

“They’re a good team, but basically we were kind of lazy.”

Quinn Richardson-Newton added nine points for Thornton (8-4), which has won four of its last five games. Eric Christensen had eight points.

The Trojans raced to a 16-8 lead after one quarter, powered by Pollard’s 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Portland came back in the second quarter, outscoring the Trojans 21-12. Zukowski scored six points during an 8-0 run, including a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 28.

In the final second of the half, Zukowski sank a free throw to give Portland its first lead, 29-28.

A back-and-forth third quarter left Portland with a 47-45 lead, and Donato’s eight-point fourth quarter kept the game close entering the deciding final minutes.

“The kids are gaining confidence, and they’re starting to trust each other,” Davies said. “We’ll look forward to the rest of the year, and just play as hard as we can.”