The Westbrook Blue Blazes exploded in a huge, decisive third quarter when they visited Bonny Eagle on Thursday night, Jan. 14. In those eight minutes, not only did Zac Manoogian knock down four of his seven threes – he finished the evening with 23 points total – but his team shut the Scots down completely, outscoring them 21-zip en route to a 59-35 W.

“Communication, staying together as a team, supporting each other – that really showed itself in the third quarter,” said Westbrook head coach Dan LeGage. “And I think defensively we got better.”

“I was happy we were able to close out the game,” said LeGage. “I was pleased with their effort tonight.”

Westbrook opened strong in the first. Anderson Kavutse kicked off the scoring, and teammate Bailey Sawyer followed him up with another basket for a quick 4-0 Blazes lead. The Scots’ Troy Bogdahn then put his squad on the board with a three, but Manoogian immediately answered with his first downtowner of the night. Bonny Eagle scrabbled back and soon took the lead, Isaiah Peters sinking a two for 8-7. The teams closed the quarter at 10-all.

The second echoed its predecessor. The Blazes scooted ahead on points by Sawyer, Miece Loureiro and Curtis Knapton, while the Scots tracked them closely. Eventually, Bogdahn dished to Jackson Hogan underneath for a lay-up two and a 19-18 advantage. The lead seesawed a couple more times before the break, and the teams headed to the locker room with Westbrook on top 27-26.

Bonny Eagle, who’ve struggled this season, had done a bang-up job, keeping pace with the Blazes, an outfit with a bit more 2015-2016 success to their name. And another win looked very much within the Scots’ reach – until the third, that is. When Westbrook’s halftime adjustments took hold, they blew the game wide open, essentially securing victory, even with another quarter to play.

It helped, of course, that Manoogian turned red-hot, draining threes like bathtub water – just pulling the plug, over and over. He had four in those eight minutes, and a two to ice the cake. Meanwhile, Kavutse also threw in five, and Knapton two.

“He made a lot of shots,” LeGage said of Manoogian. “Our guys, the rest of our team, did an awesome job of recognizing that. And that’s growth, when your team says, ‘Who’s scoring for us?’ And then the rest of the guys are selfless.”

“We’re just trying to get as many open shots as we can,” said Manoogian. “Go through the flow with the offense. With the offense in the flow like that, it usually results in good plays for everyone. We executed well tonight.”

The Scots literally had no answer for the assault – i.e., their own attack dried up completely, and they went basketless for the entire quarter. The shots they managed to get simply refused to fall, and Westbrook did a fine job of limiting those shots to begin with.

Among the Blazes’ defensive keys was shutting down Bogdahn, one of the league’s top scorers. Loureiro ably shadowed Bogdahn for much of the night, holding him to just eight points total, and exactly zero in the second half. In fact, Loureiro clung so effectively to Bogdahn at times that neither one of them looked like they were in the game at all.

“They had some really good shooters,” said LeGage. “So during halftime, we just have to make the adjustments, make sure the guys understand that it’s five-on-five, that we need to support each other.”

Westbrook had dominated, all the way to 48-26; they continued to outperform Bonny Eagle in the final quarter, though not by nearly as much. The Blazes put up 11 last points to the Scots’ nine, for an ending tally of 59-35.

Beyond Manoogian’s 23, Kavutse added 11. Knapton finished with eight – including a pair of pretty threes – Loureiro with seven and Ryan with four.

Though LeGage applauded his team’s selflessness in feeding the ball to Manoogian, it’s also important to note that when Manoogian cooled down a little – between his sixth and seventh threes – he began to dish just as readily as he’d been shooting.

“That’s just in the flow,” Manoogian said. “We’re just trying to move the ball and get as many open shots as we can.”

In addition to Bogdahn’s eight, Peters contributed 14 – Peters stepped admirably into the role of primary threat, with his elder teammate thoroughly covered for much of the game.

Westbrook improved to 5-6 on the result. The team visited Kennebunk on Monday the 18th, winning 49-45; they host Leavitt on Friday the 22nd. At present, the Blazes rank seventh in A South.

“I’m feeling great about where the team is,” said Manoogian. “We’re at a good point in the season; we’re coming into a good stretch of games. It’s going to be fun.”

Meanwhile, Bonny Eagle slipped to 2-10. The Scots hosted Massabesic on Tuesday the 19th, and welcome Sanford on Friday. The team is currently seventh in AA South.

Bonny Eagler Ben Autry and Westbrooker Bailey Sawyer go shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for a free-throw rebound.Westbrook’s Zac Manoogian knocks the ball away from Bonny Eagle’s Isaiah Peters, charging along the baseline. Blue Blaze Anderson Kavutse hems Peters at the front.