GORHAM — Thornton Academy had it all working against Gorham before halftime. But whatever momentum the Trojans carried into the break stayed in the locker room, as the Rams sprinted ahead in the third quarter and then held on for a 60-56 win at Gorham High School Wednesday.

Thornton started off cold, as Gorham sandwiched two easy baskets around a little confusion on the Trojans’ first possession. Thornton head coach Bob Davies called a timeout less than two minutes into the game, but it seemed to work. The Trojans went on a 10-2 run after that, and finished the first quarter up 17-13. All five Thornton starters scored in the quarter, capped off by Adam Ek’s driving layup with three seconds left.

The teams played evenly in the second quarter, with the Trojans extending their lead to 32-26. Quinn Richardson-Newton led the Thornton charge with 12 first-half points, and the Trojans shot eight of nine from the free-throw line.

When the teams came out for the second half, it was clear that the Rams had made some adjustments. Thornton scored just seven points and committed eight fouls in the third quarter. Gorham tilted the game in its favor, taking a 43-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

When asked if it was his own team’s lack of execution or Gorham’s defense that stunted the Thornton offense, Davies said, “both, probably. If we don’t execute that’s because Gorham is throwing everything (off). They played good defense.”

The defense was especially effective with Richardson-Newton, who had just one basket in the third quarter.

“I felt (hot) the first couple shots. I hit a few,” Richardson-Newton said of his strong first half. “But then the second half, I was going cold and couldn’t make a shot.”

Richardson-Newton said he noticed a more concerted effort by Gorham to shut him down, but wouldn’t use it as an excuse.

“I think they were just trying to get in my head, most of all. That seemed to work. I just got to make shots, when it comes down to it,” Richardson-Newton said.

Davies said Gorham didn’t do anything to stop them; just turned up the intensity.

“They had ball pressure, and they had defensive intensity. They shut us down.”

The Trojans made a run in the fourth quarter, as Richardson-Newton, Jeff Gelinas and Reuben Moses all made big shots. Thornton cut the lead down to 54-53 with 2:03 to go after Richardson-Newton made a turnaround layup, and still trailed by one with exactly one minute to go when Gorham turned the ball over.

But with a chance to tie the game, the Trojans failed to execute, just like they did for much of the second half. Thornton also missed some key free throws that could have brought them closer throughout the fourth quarter.

“We could point at a million things that went wrong, (but) they outplayed us tonight,” said Davies. “They deserved that win.”

A win could have pushed the Trojans (2-4) to .500 for the first time all season, but they let a Gorham team that came into the game with just one win out-hustle and out-execute them, Richardson-Newton said.

Still, it’s early in the season, and Richardson-Newton said the team can’t dwell on the loss.

“It’s always disappointing when you get a loss, but we just got to keep going and get on a run,” he said.

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.