PORTLAND — Thornton Academy opened its season by losing to defending-Class A state champion Deering by 49 points. On Saturday night in a quarterfinal matchup, the Trojans exacted their revenge. The seventh-seeded Trojans ended No. 2 Deering’s season with an overtime victory at the Portland Expo by scoring ”“ you guessed it ”“ 49 points, in a 49-40 victory.

“We definitely wanted a little redemption there. I mean, that was pretty embarrassing,” Thornton senior Jeff Gelinas said about getting revenge against the Rams.

The game began as a defensive struggle, with Gelinas’ 3-pointer giving the Trojans a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

That lead didn’t last long, as Deering opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run. Thornton struggled to contain Deering’s 6-foot, 7-inch big man Labson Abwoch, who scored eight of his team-high 17 points in the second.

The Trojans didn’t make a basket in the quarter until Quinn Richardson-Newton’s jumper with two minutes left. Richardson-Newton scored all six of Thornton’s second-quarter points, as they trailed 19-13 at halftime.

The Trojans opened the second half strong, with a 4-0 run in the first minute to pull within two. Kevin Barrett, who was shut out in the first half, inserted himself into the action in the third quarter. Barrett twice found himself alone under the basket, and his teammates found him the ball for two easy layups.

“He’s a good, young player. He put himself in that spot, and we got him the ball,” Thornton head coach Bob Davies said of Barrett.

Later in the quarter Barrett showed his athleticism with a spin move layup to the hoop while getting fouled. Barrett made the free throw to give Thornton a 22-21 lead.

But the Trojans’ second lead of the game was as short-lived as their first, with the Rams ending the quarter on an 8-3 run.

Again the Trojans clawed back, as Richardson-Newton started to take over. After going scoreless in the third, Richardson-Newton scored five points in the fourth to bring his team back. He completed a three-point play with two minutes to go to tie the game at 35-35.

After getting a stop on the defensive end, the Trojans tried to dribble the clock out for the last shot, but turned the ball over with 58 seconds left. Then on the Rams’ next possession Abwoch was fouled. Normally a good free throw shooter, Abwoch missed both foul shots with 41 seconds left.

Thornton again tried to hold for the last shot, but Adam Ek lost the ball out of bounds with 6.2 seconds left. Dominic Lauture took the inbounds pass and went the length of the court, but a tough layup attempt at the buzzer wouldn’t go, sending the game to overtime.

“I think it was defense,” Gelinas said about what brought the team back to force overtime. “We had some good stops at the end.”

With five more minutes and another chance to author an upset, the Trojans opened the extra period with a 5-0 run, capped off by an Ek and-1 with 1:22 to play.

Abwoch finally ended the drought with two made free throws. After Gelinas hit two free throws of his own, the two teams traded wasted possessions before Ahmed Ali hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play. The basket cut the lead to 42-40, but Ali then picked up a foul trying to guard Ek in the backcourt.

Ek missed both free throws, but his second miss bounced hard to the left, where Gelinas was there to corral the rebound, and was fouled by Abwoch. That sent Abwoch to the bench with his fifth foul, and Gelinas back to the free throw line. Gelinas made both, and made two more after getting fouled again, as the Trojans finished off the upset.

“We were fortunate to make them,” Davies said of the game-clinching free throws down the stretch. “That’s a credit to the kids that made them. They practice them, and they take that stuff serious.”

Gelinas and Richardson-Newton both scored 15 points for Thornton, and Barrett chipped in with 11.

Thornton moves onto the semifinals Wednesday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, where they will face No. 3 Bonny Eagle. The Scots also blew out the Trojans early in the season.

Gelinas simply said about facing the Scots with another chance at revenge: “Hopefully we can pull another one out.”

— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.