Boys Basketball: Gorham makes it tough, but Bonny Eagle prevails

STANDISH—Zach Maturo put up Bonny Eagle’s team high, 20, and Jake Humphrey followed him up with 11 when the Scots bested visiting Gorham on Friday night, Dec. 13. But Jake Esty tallied BE’s biggest points, their crowd-pleasingest points – the points that came at the tensest moments in a game the Rams made crazily tough for their hosts to win.

Esty finished with eight – that’s two threes and a two – in the 55-46 contest.

“Jake was sick all week,” said Bonny Eagle head coach John Trull, “so he wasn’t even at practice much. We didn’t know if he’d play, or how much he’d play, but he told me he felt good and he was the spark that we needed. He was the MVP tonight, and the guys were happy for him. Real clutch.”

Gorham got on the board first, Jordan Bretton laying in two, but the Scots promptly answered, Maturo draining a three – one of four on the night for him. Ram Bode Meader then player-control fouled Maturo, turning over control, only to steal the ball back from Maturo seconds later. Meader’s efforts earned him nothing, as Chase Graves grabbed a defensive rebound for BE, leading to Humphrey’s first two. 5-2.

Meader responded with a three for 5-5, and teammate Ryan Reno kicked in an offensive rebound and a two: 7-5, Gorham in the lead again. Humphrey, outside, dished to Graves on the inside for the 7-7 layup, but Nick Strout added another Gorham two. 9-7.

Bonny Eagle reclaimed the advantage in fiery fashion: Falling OB along the baseline, Maturo dished across/underneath for Graves, who shot. That shot missed its mark, but Scot Nate Ferris grabbed the o-reb and dished out to Humphrey, who sank a three.

10-9.

Ferris o-rebbed and added two, Gorhamite Grant Nadeau rejoined with a two of his own; Q1 passed into Q2. Bretton hit the first bucket of the stretch, a three that pushed the Rams out front again, 14-12. But Bonny Eagle fought back: Ferris o-rebbed once more, then fed to Humphrey for a three. 15-14.

Maturo hit another three before the break, as did Bretton. Bretton kicked in a two as well, while teammate Garrett Smith added a three and a couple frees. Scot Cam Gardner picked up his points for the evening during that time, too: a pair of twos. With seconds to go before the buzzer, Maturo, his boys trailing 26-24, passed no-look for Aidan Walcott on the baseline. Walcott sank a short jumper and the sides went to their locker rooms tied at 26-all.

Bretton hit the first two of Q3, but then BE surged: Maturo d-rebbed and fed for Ferris, who laid up two. 28-28. Soon Esty nabbed his first points, a two. Coming from an unexpected place – Esty’s undeniably solid, but he’s not a notorious scorer – the bucket fired up both the Scots and their fans.

“Jake had a great preseason,” Trull said. “It’s too bad he got sick. He missed our game Tuesday. But he was the reason we won tonight: He gave us a spark and the guys fed off him.”

BE next broke into a run, and built the outing’s fattest lead yet: Esty began it, dropping in a three; Maturo followed him with a layup two. Maturo then juked in from the top-left and dished rightward to Esty along the baseline. Esty relayed for Ferris, who popped in two from underneath: 37-31.

It was perhaps the turning point. Gorham did regain the upper-hand one last time – when Smith d-rebbed early in the fourth, leading to a Bretton three and 40-39 – but Nadeau player-control fouled after that and Maturo hit a three for 42-40.

Esty’s next bucket – his second three – made it 49-42, and the Scots would hold on from there. BE hashed six more to the Rams’ four, Maturo capping the evening with a pair of frees. 55-46 the final.

Besides Maturo’s 20, Humphrey’s 11, Esty’s eight and Gardner’s four, Ferris finished with six for the Scots, and Walcott, Graves and Keegan Meredith each finished with two.

“Zach kind of got off to a slow start,” Trull said. “Had a little football legs. But in big games he’s always going to show up; doesn’t matter who we play, where we play, he’s our guy. He showed up tonight – and I still don’t think he played his best.”

Bretton had 16 for the Rams, Grant 10, Reno eight, Meader and Smith five apiece, and Strout two.

The victory moved Bonny Eagle to 3-0 this winter. Gorham’s defeat, on the other hand, shuffled them to 1-2 so far.

The Rams opened their schedule with an ugly loss to South Portland – mostly worth mentioning here because the hard time they gave Bonny Eagle suggests they’re already opening up their potential.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Trull said. “Whenever we play those guys, it’s kind of like a rivalry for us; we know them and they know us. They did a very good job early on, and matching intensity. It’s a tough place to play, so credit to those guys. I knew it was going to be a close game, and we had to make sure we executed down the stretch and we did.”