PORTLAND – Tournament week continued Saturday night at the Portland Expo, where No. 3 Bonny Eagle hosted sixth-seeded Scarborough a quarterfinal bout. After a low-scoring first quarter, during which Scarborough built a narrow, one-point lead, Bonny Eagle found a rhythm the Red Storm couldn’t match. In the next 24 minutes, the Scots turned that one-point deficit into a 16-point, 48-32, victory.

“I thought it would be a little bit closer,” Bonny Eagle head coach Phil Bourassa said, after the game, of a rematch of a game earlier this season that saw the Scots pull out a one-point OT win. “[Scarborough] missed some shots. Had some of those fallen, I think it would’ve been a very similar game to our regular season game.” Bonny Eagle won the teams’ first meeting of the season as well, on Feb. 1 – but only by one point, and in overtime.

Scarborough finishes the season 12-7. Bonny Eagle improves to 16-3, and moves on to the semifinal round. The Scots will face Thornton Academy, who upset No. 2 Deering in Saturday night’s 9 p.m. matchup, next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Bonny Eagle senior Jon Thomas won the opening tip-off, drawing the ball back to junior teammate and force-to-be-reckoned-with Dustin Cole. Cole attacked contemplatively, surveying the field around Scarborough’s basket and setting precisely the pace he desired. Inside of 30 seconds, he had scored the game’s first two, drawn the foul, and added the extra point. Scarborough matched a minute later, senior Brendan Hall sinking a two, and got the go-ahead basket a minute after that, with senior Dillon Russo this time doing the honors. Cole drained another two with just under five minutes to play, though Scarborough parried, senior Sam Wessel dropping in a two and simultaneously coaxing a foul from Cole, though Wessel couldn’t add the free throw. The last half of the quarter played out scorelessly, and at the buzzer, Scarborough stood on top, 6-5.

Bonny Eagle struck first in the second quarter, sophomore Ben Malloy feeding Thomas for two. Scarborough co-captain Sam Terry hashed the next six, however: two plus a free throw, on a foul by Thomas, followed shortly by a three. Malloy countered with six of his own, including a three. The teams continued trading blows for the remainder of the half, but Bonny Eagle was here and there gaining an inch, a foot, a yard of ground. Cole recorded six more and senior CJ Autry added two, allowing Bonny Eagle to take the lead, 23-19, before heading to the locker room.

“We changed two matchups,” Bourassa said of his strategy going into Bonny Eagle’s second battle with Scarborough in less than three weeks. “It kind of gave us an advantage defensively. We held them to 32 points. I think [the changes] helped with that.”

Cole wasted little time widening Bonny Eagle’s lead at the start of the third quarter. He scored a two, then made two from the line after Scarborough’s Russo incurred a pair of fouls, the second a technical he earned for shouting and slapping the floor in frustration. Scarborough senior John Wheeler drained a three to keep the Red Storm close, but two minutes later Malloy dropped in his second three of the night and Cole dished to Autry for another long bomb. Hall added two, plus one from the line, but after three periods of play, Scarborough had only fallen further behind, 33-25.

The Scots sank a pair of threes to start the fourth quarter, one on a sharp pass from Cole to sophomore Zach Dubiel, waiting near the baseline. It was a favored maneuver of Cole’s Saturday night, the recipient typically either Dubiel or Malloy.

“Dustin draws so much attention when he drives,” Bourassa said after the game. “It really puts a lot of pressure on the defense. Ben’s a great player, a great shooter; he understands how to get open. [Dustin and Ben] have been best friends since they were 2 years old, and playing together since they were even younger. They understand it’s something I don’t even understand, how well they understand each other.”

Cole scored five more as the clock approached zero, and Malloy added two. A three by Terry and four total by Hall were Scarborough’s only points in the fourth quarter.

“[Scarborough is] a very good team,” Bourassa added. “I expected [Saturday’s game] to go down to the wire.”

Cole turned in 22 for the Scots, while Malloy had eight, and Dubiel had nine. For Scarborough, Hall and Terry each had nine.

Bonny Eagle star Dustin Cole looks to pass to sophomore Ben Malloy (20) as Scarborough’s Dillon Russo rushes forward to block.
Scarborough captain Sam Terry lobs a three over the head of Bonny Eagle defender Jon Thomas.
Bonny Eagle’s Jon Thomas and Scarborough’s Sam Terry vie for the opening tip-off in their teams’ quarterfinal matchup Saturday night. Bonny Eagle emerged victorious, 48-32.
Scarborough captain Brendan Hall lays the ball up, looking for two, though Bonny Eagle senior Jon Thomas has other ideas.
Red Storm captain Brendan Hall ducks the ball around Bonny Eagle defender Dustin Cole at the Portland Expo Saturday night.
Scots senior Jon Thomas defends as Scarborough’s John Wheeler drives toward the net.
Scarborough senior John Wheeler shoulders into Bonny Eagle’s Dustin Cole while making for the net.