PORTLAND – Former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Laker coach Phil Jackson once said, “Approach the game with no preset agendas and you’ll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.”

While Jackson’s quote may work on athletes getting paid millions of dollars, It doesn’t quite apply universally to the game of basketball. Perhaps Jackson forgot what it was like to be a high school student. Perhaps he never had the opportunity to coach high school athletes. If he did, he likely would have to adjust his attitude, just slightly.

Just ask Bonny Eagle boys’ basketball coach Phil Bourassa, a coach who led his team to the regional finals last year. In the case of Scots, how could they not enter this season without the agenda of making it to the state championship?

For the second year in a row, the Scots were upended in the Western Maine final, preventing them from a chance at playing for a state title, losing to the No. 1 Deering Rams on a prayer at the buzzer.

After handing his players their ceremonial runner-up medals, Bourassa stood next to his row of seated players as the Rams received the spoils of victory. His arms were crossed and his face was stern. There was nothing malicious about the young coach’s glare. Instead, Bourassa seemed lost in thought as to what could have been.

After the Rams raised the commemorative game ball, Bourassa and his team made the lonely walk to the locker rooms at the Cumberland County Civic Center. For a game with so much action and so much drama, it was odd to be able to hear a pin drop as 14 high school players and coaches walked down a narrow corridor.

After a lengthy meeting with his team behind closed doors, Bourassa emerged from the locker room with his face in hands in an attempt to get over what had just happened. He answered questions from the media like a professional, his eyes still on a thus far unachievable prize.

“We’ve got to work hard to get back here and hopefully things end up different,” said the third-year coach.

While that is undoubtedly the goal, this loss is going to be particularly hard to swallow considering the fashion in which it ended. It wasn’t just the fact that the Scots lost at the buzzer. The loss symbolized the end of an era for the Scots as standout guard Cole Libby saw his high school career come to an end.

“The kid is as tough as nails,” said Bourassa. “I started my coaching career when he was a freshman, I was an assistant. Three years as a head coach, I love that kid like a little brother. It hurts.”

Libby, who was the first player to emerge from the Scots’ locker room, reflected on the game’s final outcome. “Honestly, when (Pat Green) shot it I was just thinking to myself, please don’t go in. I give props to him, it took courage to shoot it,” he said.

The standout guard showed remarkable poise and confidence despite the disappointment. Too often do people forget that high school athletes don’t have the luxury of shaking off a tough defeat by getting out of the spotlight. They still have class, they still have homework and they still have to live their lives.

For Libby, he has college to look forward to.

“I look forward to my college career,” he said. It’s like any other game, I guess. It hurts a little more, but I’ll be fine after today.”