SACO — The Thornton Academy boys basketball team fell to visiting Portland 61-59 Monday evening thanks to a late run by the Bulldogs’ offense.

TA was led by Jack Tilley with 22 points and Corey Hart added 19.

The Bulldogs were led by Griffen Foley who scored 15 points while John Williams chipped on 11 on the night.

TA had a hot start, jumping to a quick 13-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Trojans had multiple big plays in the first eight minutes, including a deep 3-pointer by Tilley and a tough contested 3-pointer from Hart.

TA entered the second with a tight 13-10 lead, and the game continued to be a tough battle through the second quarter.

Both teams played tough defensively in the paint, while the guards scored from all angles from the outside,

After a close second, TA managed to build a six-point lead entering halftime.

The Bulldogs came out in the third with an up-tempo attack, allowing the guards to shoot from beyond the arc.

Thanks to multiple 3-pointers, Portland quickly took a 31-30 lead as TA felt the pressure on both ends of the court.

Portland accumulated a 45-40 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third, but TA went on a late run capped by a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Tilley, tying the score 45-45 entering the final quarter.

The Trojans came out hot in the fourth by going on an 11-2 run. Portland did not allow the momentum to continue and took a lead of their own.

In the final half of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs pieced together a 12-0 run and regained control of the game.

Although TA came within two points in the final 10 seconds, Portland was able to hold on for the close win.

TA coach Bob Davies felt his team needed to be quicker in transition.

“We didn’t get back defensively. They got shots off, they played zone and made the plays, we just didn’t get back defensively. We let them get back into it and that was the difference,” said Davies.

Looking forward, Davies’ message to his team is quite simple.

“We just have to get better, we have to play better, that’s all,” said Davies.

Portland coach Joseph Russo was pleased with his team’s improvement in the second half versus the first.

“For some reason the energy wasn’t there in the first half, maybe it was because of the snow and that we didn’t practice. At half we decided to switch to half court, we wanted up-tempo play and they did that,” said Russo. “Once we knew what worked they were able to settle in and make the plays.”

Russo felt that the ultimate difference was his team’s competitiveness in the final quarter of play.

“Down the stretch when TA was making their shots I just told the kids that it was about competing. TA wasn’t doing anything magical, they were just competing,” said Russo. “They were able to come back in the fourth but our guys played hard were able to pull through when it could have been a different outcome. I’m thrilled with the way they played down the stretch.”

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.