Windham High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team earned the top seed in the Class A South tournament as it looks toward the playoffs after defeating Thornton Academy at Windham High on Thursday, Feb. 5. The first time Windham competed against Thornton Academy earlier this season the game was a lot closer, with Windham winning by two points in their first game of the year. However, in its final game of the regular season, Windham secured the lead at the end of the first quarter and remained out in front for the rest of the game and crushed the Trojans, 64-51.
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| Windham senior AJ Moody sets up to take a shot during the final game of the boys' varsity basketball regular season against Thornton Academy at Windham High School on Thursday, Feb. 5. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
“We saw a bunch of our old teammates in the stands,” said Moody. “Our (whole) community was here and we really appreciate everybody, especially Bob Witham. Playing for our team and us seniors, knowing it was going to be the last game out on this court, no matter who the competition was, we were going to die on that court and give it everything we got. Our defense was very active; we knew what our roles were there. We just got to work on transition stuff and once we put it all together, I think we’re going to be golden, but right now we have a lot to work on.”
James opened the game with a three-pointer. It was a close game early on with high intensity and everyone was moving at a fast pace. At the end of the first quarter Windham led by just two points, but from that point on they would remain in the lead and Thornton Academy would never recover.
The Eagles’ defense was strong and shut down Trojan scoring opportunities every chance they got. Windham kept distancing themselves from Thornton Academy on the scoreboard. Sophomore Sean Lebel sank a three-pointer and at the half, Windham led, 30-18.
“Our team has gotten a lot better since game one,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “Watching their growth over the season and their composure has never changed, and their execution has been outstanding for this last seven weeks of basketball. The guys are practicing well, they’re focused ... all that stuff translates to games. Our defense was really, really good tonight; we’re a more physical team. We learned a lot from that first game and did all we could to take away Thornton’s opportunities.”
In the second half, Thornton Academy was slowly working to close the gap, but the Eagles remained ahead by more than 10 points. Junior Colin Janvrin hit a three-pointer. James sank a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter.
The Eagles rebounded well in the fourth quarter as they kept a nice distance between them and Thornton Academy. Intensity never dipped and Windham ran out the clock and earned the win.
“It was amazing, everyone coming to support us, people we’ve seen from our freshman year up to now,” said James who scored 31 points. “We came out with intensity. (We need to work on) transition defense.”
Janvrin, who scored 16 points, said that the first time they played Thorton Academy they didn’t give them their best game, so the coaches hyped them a little bit and said that they needed to play their best basketball; they came out and did that.
“The defensive side really separated us and the offensive side,” said Pulkkinen. “We had some great possessions; possession-by-possession, get a stop, get a great look and we were doing that constantly tonight and eventually that adds up on the scoreboard. They all trust one another and when that trust is there, they knock down shots, get easy layups, that makes us tough to guard. The playoffs come down to details and preparation. We’ll do our best to get these guys ready and prepared.” <
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