SACO – The Westbrook boys basketball team has chosen the right time to hit an upswing.

After suffering through a five-game losing streak in January, the Blazes have turned things around and have won their last three games in a row, with the latest win coming on Tuesday night as the Blazes went to Saco and got a big upset of No. 6 Thornton Academy, 59-56.

Westbrook (7-8), which shocked No. 2 Portland last week, will still likely be on the road for the prelim round of the playoffs as they sit at No. 9 in the latest Class A West Heal Points released on Wednesday morning. But the good news for the Blazes is that their playoff position looks solid, after dropping out of the top 11 in January, Westbrook has vaulted back into postseason contention, and with just three games left to go, it appears that Westbrook will hold onto a postseason berth.

In fact, the upset win over the Trojans puts the Blazes in the mix for a home prelim game, but they would need some help. Currently, Westbrook trails No. 8 Scarborough by just over nine points. The Red Storm have tough games with the Trojans and No. 4 Bonny Eagle left on their schedule, while the Blazes have games with the Scots, Windham and Gorham on their schedule. If Westbrook were to win all three and the Storm were to stumble against either the Scots or the Trojans, Westbrook could overtake Scarborough and would be home for the team’s first playoff game.

On Tuesday night, the Blazes implemented a strategy similar to the one they used against Portland, coming out of the gate quickly and building a first-quarter lead. Westbrook jumped out to a 21-12 advantage after the first, which was a fortunate thing, because the Trojan offense woke up in the second quarter, outscoring the Blazes 17-7 to take a one-point halftime lead.

Westbrook tied things up in the third and went into the final quarter with the score 44-44. Playing on the road against one of the top teams in the state didn’t faze the Blazes as they hit 7 of 12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to pull off a huge win.

Zack Bean was deadly from beyond the arc for the Blazes, as he hit five 3-pointers for a team-high 15 points in the game. David Breunig added 11 points for Westbrook and Nguot Nguot had nine.

Thornton’s Justin Pollard had an explosive game, leading all scorers with 32 points, including seven 3-pointers.

With the win over the Trojans behind them, Westbrook now must turn its attention to No. 13 Windham (4-10). The Eagles will be in Westbrook Friday night for a 7 p.m. game and the Blazes must keep their focus and not look ahead to the big Feb. 7 home matchup with the Scots if they want to keep their chances for a home playoff game alive.