The Thornton Academy boys basketball team brought back a ton of talent from last year’s squad – and the Golden Trojans were looking to make some noise this season.

The Trojans’ hopes of making a deep playoff run this season got a boost when a new student enrolled at TA and joined the team.

That new TA student-athlete is Jack Tilley – who came to Saco from New Brunswick, Canada – and the 5-foot-10 point guard has made an immediate impact for the Trojans. “He’s done a great job for us. The best part is he’s making everyone else around him better,” said Thornton Academy coach Bob Davies of Tilley.

Tilley has helped lead the Trojans to a 10-1 record, including a big 63-61 win over Massabesic where the standout led the team with 15 points.

The senior has enjoyed his first few months at TA.

“It’s been an experience. I came down not knowing anybody, but it’s been great and I’m tight with all the guys … I love them,” said Tilley.

The Trojans’ new point guard formed a bond with the rest of the team pretty quickly, according to Tilley.

“They accepted me as one of their own – we are all family now,” said Tilley.

Tilley was thrilled to join a team that already had several standouts on the roster, including Corey Hart, Ben Lambert, Rome Pura and John Fogg.

“I love playing with these guys. We definitely work very well as a team,” said Tilley.

Davies has enjoyed seeing his team rally around Tilley and come together as a team.

“He’s such a team guy, so it’s fun to watch these guys play because they care about each other,” said Davies.

For Davies, it was a nice surprise when Tilley showed up to practice – and showed off his skills.

“I heard that a kid from Canada moved in, I didn’t know how good he was and I hadn’t seen him play … we are happy to have him,” said Davies.

Despite only being at Thornton Academy for one year, Tilley is hoping to leave his mark by helping the Trojans make some noise in February.

“We want to see it as far as we can go. It’s a team game, I don’t really have any personal goals at all, we just want to see it as far as we can go, take it one game at a time and see how it works for us,” said Tilley.

— Sports Editor Pat McDonald can be reached at pmcdonald@journaltribune.com or at 282- 1535 ext. 322. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.