PORTLAND – The Bonny Eagle boys basketball team led for only 48 seconds of its game with unbeaten Deering last Saturday night.

But they were the right 48 seconds.

C.J. Autry hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute and Thiwat Thiwat’s shot for Deering at the buzzer went all the way around the rim but didn’t fall as the Scots took a thrilling 45-44 come-from-behind victory in Portland in a game that certainly lived up to its billing. Bonny Eagle (5-1) had been down 42-32 with just five minutes remaining but went on a 13-2 run to end it, helped by two key Deering (5-1) foul outs and multiple turnovers down the stretch by the Rams.

Down nearly the entire game and also in foul trouble throughout, the Scots could have given in several times but stuck it out, playing far more composed down the stretch than the defending Class A state champs.

“It’s always quite a journey when you play these guys,” Bonny Eagle head coach Phil Bourassa said. (Deering coach Dan LeGage) is a great coach, somebody I have the utmost respect for and you know their guys are going to be ready. It just happened to go our way tonight.”

The victory partially avenged a 45-42 loss in last year’s regional final, a game that the Rams pulled out on a three at the buzzer. That has been on the Scots’ minds for nine months, and they got a little payback in the sweetest way imaginable on the Rams’ home court Saturday.

“I think it’s always in the back of our minds when you prepare for Deering because of how they beat us last year,” Bourassa said. “But they earned that win and I think we earned tonight’s win. They’re different teams too so you can’t really dwell on it.”

Autry said last year’s heartbreak made this triumph all the sweeter.

“I didn’t want to let this happen again. Last year it was just an awful feeling after that game so it was good to win a game this time,” Autry said. “Almost every day I think about it. But this is a great feeling to get them back for that.”

Deering started the game hot by making its first four shots, including two 3-point plays from star 6-foot-7 forward Labson Abwoch, to take a 10-5 lead early and a 14-9 advantage after one. The undersized Scots hung in, and two Ben Malloy free throws closed the gap to 24-22 late in the second. But a Liam Densmore three ball and Medhane Halefom layup in the final minute brought the Deering lead back up to seven at the break.

Twenty-four fouls were called in the physical first 16 minutes, and the constant stoppages in play, as well as the Rams’ high-pressure man-to-man defense that even heralded Bonny Eagle junior point guard Dustin Cole found hard to handle put a damper on the Scots’ usual high-flying attack in the opening half.

“The amount of stoppages in play and how aggressively they were playing defensively kind of took us out of our game in the first half,” Bourassa said. “We didn’t feel comfortable and we didn’t look comfortable and that was pretty obvious.

“They extended and their defense was very good tonight. I think we rushed a little bit too much and turned the ball over too much and in that it really hindered our offense.”

An Autry jumper and Zach Dubiel layup pegged the Deering lead back to 29-26 to open the second half, but the Rams closed the third with a 7-3 as the Scots didn’t hit a shot from the field in the final seven minutes of the quarter.

“Even in the third quarter we didn’t look that great,” Bourassa said. “But in the fourth quarter we know we’re a very composed team for the most part, so we’re confident that going into the fourth quarter if we have a shot we can pull it off.”

It didn’t look like it was going to be Bonny Eagle’s night when Abwoch hit a jumper to start the fourth and bring the lead to 39-29. Cole was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three from the charity stripe to get it back to seven, but Densmore answered with a three to make it 42-32. Back-to-back layups from Dubiel and Jon Thomas got it back to 42-36 before Abwoch hit a pair of free throws to take the lead back up to eight.

Those two points would be the last that Abwoch, and as it turned out Deering, would score as the star forward then fouled out with 3:31 to play, leaving the game with a team-high 14 points.

“Abwoch’s a great player, any time you take him off the floor it changes the dynamic of the game and you saw that tonight,” Bourassa said. “But we had quite a few players who didn’t play well either all night. I think that did make a huge factor in tonight’s game. Hey, we got lucky.”

Malloy connected on his third three-ball of the game with 3:16 to play to make it 44-39, and Cole was then fouled by Deering point guard Dominic Lauture, who fouled out. Cole hit one of two free throws, and then took advantage of Lauture’s absence by picking Kevin Masse’s pocket in the backcourt and going in for a breakaway lay up to make it a two-point game.

LeGage called a timeout in an attempt to stem the tide, but the Rams once again turned the ball over on their next possession. Malloy then missed a three that would have put the Scots ahead, but Deering again gave the ball back.

This time, the Scots took advantage. As he was many times, Cole was harassed outside the arc on the ensuing possession but found a wide-open Autry in the corner. Though he’d made only a single shot from the field all night beforehand, the senior forward didn’t hesitate to fire his shot up, swishing it through the net to give Bonny Eagle its first lead of the game.

“I was nervous but I knew the shot was going in once I shot it.” Autry said. “I was kind of just hoping (Cole) wouldn’t lose it, and he made a great play with it and I just made the shot.

“I was just hoping that it would go in. After missing a lot it’s all you can hope for.”

Densmore missed a runner in the lane on the Rams next possession and Cole corralled the rebound and was fouled, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Deering came down with the board and called a timeout with 12.4 seconds remaining.

LeGage drew up a play for Thiwat, who received the ball in the post and was promptly triple teamed. The 6-foot-4 forward found a way over his defenders and put up a five-foot turnaround jumper as the clock hit zeros, and it looked like the Rams would send the Scots to another painful defeat as the ball rolled on the rim. But instead of going through it rimmed out and fell back to Earth, sending the Bonny Eagle players and cheering section into jubilation.

“I assumed that they wanted to get into the post and we wanted to double,” Bourassa said of the last play. “Not sure if we wanted to triple but we did and it rolled out. Like I said, you get lucky, he probably makes that six out of 10 times.”

Cole finished the game as the leading scorer for the Scots with 18, while Malloy added 14 and Autry six, his smallest, but perhaps most clutch, output of the season so far. Abwoch led the way for Deering with 14 while Densmore scored nine and Halefom and Lauture both had six.

The win moves Bonny Eagle into a two-way tie with the Rams for third-place in Western Class A, behind only 6-0 South Portland and 6-0 Portland, who edged the Scots 55-52 at the Expo back on Dec. 18. Though there’s still plenty of regular season to go it will be hard to top this victory for Bonny Eagle until it’s win or go home time come February, when these two very well could meet again across town at the Civic Center.

For now, the Scots just look to keep building momentum.

“We know we’re a great team,” Autry said. “We’ve just got to keep doing it.”

Bonny Eagle forward C.J. Autry puts up a shot over Deering forward Thiwat Thiwat in the first quarter. Autry scored six points, including the game-winning 3-pointer in the final minute, as the Scots rallied to beat the Rams 45-44.
Bonny Eagle guard Dustin Cole goes up for a jumper in the second quarter against Deering. Cole scored a game-high 18 points as the Scots rallied to beat the Rams 45-44 and avenge last year’s regional final loss.
Bonny Eagle guard Ben Malloy drives on Deering guard Liam Densmore in the fourth quarter. Malloy scored 14 points, including three 3-pointers, as Scots rallied to beat the Rams 45-44.