Windham threatened the Rams for three straight quarters on Saturday, Jan. 2, but Sam Kilborn’s huge effort in the fourth – he scored 12 of his 22 points in those last eight minutes – ultimately captured the W for Gorham. 66-54 the final.
“It was a nice bounce-back win against a tough team,” said Gorham head coach Mark Karter. “Windham shot the ball very well – they have some good young players and are well-coached. They’ll be a tough team as the season goes on.”
A pair of Stephen Burns threes propelled the Rams to a narrow lead, 16-15, after one. Kyle Kilfoil led the Eagles in that stretch, notching seven. Windham lagged further in the second, managing just 11 to Gorham’s 16, for a 32-26 differential at the break.
“All our guys competed,” Windham head coach Chad Pulkkinen said, “especially in the first half. Kyle Kilfoil played a great game, both in his attack and in his effort on the glass. He had a tough assignment with Kilborn, but gave him problems in the first half.”
Pulkkinen praised a number of his other players as well, including a trio of 10th-graders, Nick Curtis, Mike Gilman and Hunter Coffin.
“Nick and Mike will always draw attention,” Pulkkinen said. “[They’ve] really stepped up, and we look to them to carry a load that usually isn’t seen by sophomores. Gorham did a good job making it tough on them throughout the game. (Hunter) has been improving and given us great production. He’s a scoring threat and a great rebounder/defender.”
The Eagles seized control of the scoring in the third; Gilman nailed two of his five threes on the day as Windham outpaced the Rams 15-12 and sliced their deficit to 44-41.
That’s when Kilborn caught fire, however. The enormous center, a 6-foot-5 powerhouse underneath, dropped in five buckets and a deuce of frees in the final eight minutes. The entire Windham roster managed just 13 in that time – six by Gilman and five by Curtis – for the 66-54 final.
“(Kilfoil) being aggressive allowed us to get (Kilborn) in foul trouble,” said Pulkkinen. “(We) contained him for three quarters. The fourth quarter, he dominated the paint. He made the difference down the stretch.”
In addition to Kilborn’s 22, Burns finished with 13 for Gorham, and teammate Jackson Fotter knocked down 10. Cameron Holmes, who saw his first substantial playing time of the season, had eight, and Logan Drouin seven.
Karter praised his boys’ diverse attack. “We had good balance in scoring,” he said, “with seven players getting into the book. We also shot well from the line.” The Rams drained 17 of their 20 foul shots, including 10 of 12 in the fourth.
Gilman finished with 17, Kilfoil with 15. Curtis added 12, and Coffin eight.
The result, which played out at USM’s Costello Sports Complex, shuttled Gorham to 5-2 in 2015-16. The Rams traveled to Thornton on Tuesday the 5th, where they succumbed 71-66. Their next battle is at Portland on Friday the 8th.
The Eagles slipped on the loss to 3-5. The team hosted Bonny Eagle on Tuesday, pulling out a 58-39 win. They welcome Noble on Friday.
