SCARBOROUGH — Thornton Academy entered Monday on a two-game winning streak, and the Trojans used the momentum from those wins to take an early 6-5 lead against fellow playoff contender Scarborough. But things soon went south for the Trojans, as the Red Storm went on a 14-0 run and never looked back, as Scarborough rolled to a 70-46 win in an SMAA boys basketball game at Alumni Gymnasium.
Thornton’s two big men, Kevin Barrett and Quinn Richardson-Newton, put the Trojans (4-5) up by a point early. But Barrett was relegated to the bench less than four minutes in after picking up two fouls, and that’s when the Red Storm (7-4) made its run.
The scoring streak began as a 6-0 run before Thornton head coach Bob Davies called a timeout with 3:07 left in the first quarter. But not much changed for the Trojans coming out of the timeout, as they struggled against Scarborough’s suffocating defense, leading to easy baskets for the Red Storm on the other end.
“They just came out ready to play. We weren’t ready for the press, the 1-3-1, the trap,” said Richardson-Newton. “They just came out, put their foot down, and just ran all over us the first quarter.”
“The stuff they run, they run well. We knew what was coming, we just haven’t seen it live the way they do it,” said Davies. “Credit to them; they’re good at what they do.”
Scarborough junior Nate Wessel had his own personal run during the streak, as he scored eight-consecutive points to extend the lead from 9-6 to 17-6.
“It’s tough to guard any of those kids. They all can make shots, they all can get to the hoop,” said Richardson-Newton. “You’ve got to get a hand up, you’ve got to contest and try to get the rebound.”
The run finally came to an end when Reuben Moses made a layup for the Trojans with 55 seconds left in the quarter.
The Red Storm hit one more shot before the first eight minutes elapsed and led 21-8 after one, with Wessel outscoring Thornton on his own, 9-8.
The Trojan offense was finally able to get on track in the second quarter, as Richardson-Newton scored eight of his team-high 20 points in the period, and Corey Hart hit two 3-pointers.
But the Red Storm was able to keep up its own scoring output, led again by Wessel, with six points.
“We’d string together a few defensive possessions. We’d score off those,” said Richardson-Newton. “Then, we just went back to the way we were the first quarter; we couldn’t stop them.”
Scarborough’s Matt Hartl missed a floater and a put-back at the buzzer, but the Red Storm was able to increase its lead by a point, to 40-26, at halftime.
Wessel opened the second half with a jumper, but didn’t score again in the quarter. Richardson-Newton, meanwhile, continued his scoring spree from the second quarter, and scored eight more points in the third. Evan Wright pitched in with all six of his points in the quarter ”“ including four free throws ”“ as Thornton pulled within 54-44 at the end of the quarter.
“We scored a few more points, and played a little bit better defense,” Davies said of the third quarter.
The Trojans had a chance to pull within single digits, but Richardson-Newton’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off-target. That trend continued throughout the fourth quarter, as neither Richardson-Newton nor the rest of his teammates could make a basket.
A pair of Richardson-Newton free throws was all the Trojans could muster over the final eight minutes, as Scarborough finished the game on a 16-2 run. Sam Freeman led the charge, as he scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the final frame.
“I think it was just tired legs,” Richardson-Newton said regarding the team fading down the stretch. “This is our third game in four days, but that’s really not an excuse for us. We’ve just got to keep playing and not give up.”
“It’s always disappointing,” Davies said of the loss, “but hopefully we’ll be able to recover. We’ll move on; it’s only one game.”
Thornton has another quick turnaround, as the Trojans travel to Windham tonight to take on the Eagles (4-6) at 7 p.m.
— Staff Writer Wil Kramlich can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or sports@journaltribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less