WESTBROOK – Despite holding a 6-2 record and playing at home, the up-to-this-point unheralded Westbrook boys basketball team knew where they stood going into Tuesday night’s showdown with 7-1 powerhouse Bonny Eagle.

“We were definitely the underdogs,” forward D.J. Breunig said. “We weren’t really expected to beat them but we knew if we played well we could beat any team in this league because we have the talent to do it. We knew we could win if we played to our potential, we just had to go out there and play our best basketball.”

After 32 minutes of battle with the Scots they probably now expect a little more respect thanks to a hard-fought 53-50 victory in Westbrook in a game that wasn’t decided until the final minute. It was the third win in a row for the Blazes, who now find themselves firmly entrenched in a five-way battle for the top playoff seeds in Western Class A.

“I don’t think we thought we were going to be at the top or close to the top,” Westbrook coach Mark Karter said. “But at the beginning of the year we thought we had a high ceiling and we thought we could improve quite a bit. “(Bonny Eagle’s) a quality team and it’s nice to get that win.”

Trailing nearly throughout, Bonny Eagle took the lead with 2:09 to play when Dustin Cole hit a pair of free throws to put his team up 50-48. Westbrook’s Alec Hazlewood was fouled on the Blazes’ ensuing possession and also hit two clutch shots from the charity stripe to tie things up. Cole missed a runner in the lane on the Scots’ next possession, and Karter called a timeout with his team with the ball and 34.8 seconds to play.

Out of the break Westbrook point guard Zack Bean took the ball and looked to pass to Breunig, but seeing his intended target well covered, he took the ball around a screen and hit a running layup himself to give Westbrook a two-point cushion.

“That’s a play where our first option was covered,” Karter said, “and he made a nice read and went to our second option on it. Fortunately, he made the basket.”

Cole hurried the ball to the other end but his rushed pass went over Ben Malloy’s head and out of bounds. Westbrook guard Keenan Lowe was then fouled and hit one of two to make it a three-point game as Bonny Eagle called a timeout with nine seconds to play.

Cole again brought the ball down the court and this time pulled up for a three that only found rim. Bonny Eagle’s Zach Dubiel snatched the rebound but Lowe intercepted his kick-out pass as the clock hit zeros, setting off a raucous celebration on the Westbrook bench.

“In a game like that there’s a lot of pressure and these kids haven’t been in that situation very much, so it’s good to learn and I thought we did just enough to get over the top there,” Karter said.

“We were hoping that (Cole) would use the screen at the top of the key but he felt he had the dribble pull up,” Bourassa said of the final play. “We trust him to hit that.”

Bonny Eagle had come into the game on a four-game winning streak, including a thrilling, 21-point victory over defending state champs Cheverus. But Bourassa said Tuesday’s setback showed the Scots still have a long way to go.

“We didn’t show up ready to play, the slow start got us,” Bourassa said. “We didn’t play as a team. We weren’t cutting, we weren’t boxing out, we weren’t attacking the offensive glass. We were playing soft. We weren’t even close (to Westbrook’s physicality). We have some kids who can play and they didn’t show that tonight. We just didn’t play well as a team.”

Westbrook had led for the entirety of the first half, taking a 15-8 lead after one and a 26-21 edge into halftime. The Scots came out of the gates strong in the third, taking their first lead on a Malloy three midway through the quarter and holding a 36-35 advantage heading into the fourth thanks to a Cole long-bomb as the buzzer sounded.

Westbrook started the fourth on a 9-0 run and looked to be pulling away when Lowe hit a jumper to make things 44-36 with 5:30 to play. But after a Bourassa timeout, the quick-strike Scots went on a run of their own, scoring eight points in the next 1:12 – including a three followed by a three-point play from Malloy – to tie things up with four minutes to play.

The quick eight-point spurt showed what the Scots are capable of when at their best, but the Blue Blazes were able to put out the fire and score nine of the last 15 points to close out the victory.

“They’re a very, very good team with very good players so they can close a gap really quick,” Karter said “When we didn’t run what we wanted to run and let them dictate what was going on, that’s really bad news for us. That got them back into the game and I was just happy we were able to have that last spurt.”

Cole had a game-high 29 points, 17 of which came in the second half, to lead the Scots, with Malloy adding 16. Breunig led the Blue Blazes with 18, including all nine of Westbrook’s points in the third quarter when the rest of the offense was struggling, while his partner down low Hazlewood chipped in 12. The pairs’ hard-work on the inside also got Bonny Eagle into late foul trouble, with Scots bigs C.J. Autry and Jon Thomas both fouling out in quick succession with three minutes to play.

“He’s a big, strong kid and when he does what we ask of him he’s pretty tough,” Karter said of Breunig. “He’s a left-handed kid and kind of tough to guard, very athletic and both him and Alec Hazlewood have been playing well the last couple of weeks.”

Bonny Eagle will look to get back into the win column at home when it hosts 3-6 Marshwood on Friday night, while Westbrook will face another test at home against 5-4 Sanford. But as they head into the second half of their schedule, keeping up their winning ways should be easier or the Blue Blazes thanks to the big momentum building win over the Scots.

“I thought the last couple of games we’ve been playing much better and it was good to measure up against a real quality team,” Karter said. “I kind of like the way we played, we didn’t play smart at times but at other times we played really well so it turned out alright for us.”

Westbrook guard Aaron Duncanson looks for a pass over Bonny Eagle defender C.J. Autry in the first quarter. Staff photos by Cameron Dunbar
Westbrook players celebrate their win over Bonny Eagle after the final buzzer sounded on their 53-50 victory, moving the Blue Blazes to 7-2 on the season. 
Westbrook guard Keenan Lowe drives into the Bonny Eagle paint in the second quarter.
Westbrook guard Zack Bean tries to corral the ball in the second quarter against Bonny Eagle. Bean scored 12 points and hit the game-winning layup in the final minute as the Blue Blazes defeated the Scots 53-50.
Bonny Eagle point guard Dustin Cole drives into the heavily guarded Westbrook paint in the third quarter. Cole scored a game-high 29 points but the Scots fell to the Blue Blazes 53-50.
Bonny Eagle guard Ben Malloy goes up for a three in the fourth quarter against Westbrook as his head coach Phil Bourassa looks on. Malloy scored 16 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Blazes defeated the Scots 53-50.
Westbrook players celebrate their win over Bonny Eagle after the final buzzer sounded on their 53-50 victory, moving the Blue Blazes to 7-2 on the season.