Eagles erase 15-point fourth quarter deficit, ride 24-4 run to a thrilling 75-72 victory.
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FALMOUTH—Most teams facing a 15-point deficit with just over five minutes to play accept their fate and quietly go down to the defeat.
Not the Windham Eagles.
That’s because the reigning Class AA champion Eagles know they’re never out of a game and they practice with that in mind.
And that preparation proved enormous Tuesday evening at Falmouth in a compelling interclass showdown of title contenders.
Early on, Windham appeared poised for victory, as it held a 24-14 lead after one quarter, thanks in large part to 10 points from senior Conor Janvrin.
But the Navigators, coming off an inspirational victory over Noble three days prior, erupted for 29 second period points and held a 43-40 halftime advantage, as senior standout Davis Mann led the way with 14 points.
Mann added eight more points in the third quarter, while the Eagles went ice cold, and Falmouth took a 60-50 lead to the fourth.
There, two Mann free throws with 5:52 left stretched the advantage to 15, but Windham turned up the defensive intensity and what resulted was a dizzying rally.
A 3-point shot from senior Creighty Dickson cut the deficit under 10, 66-57, with 3:31 left.
A 3-point shot from junior AJ Moody made it a one-point game, 68-67, with 1:54 remaining.
Nine seconds later, the Eagles got a fortuitous bounce as a defensive deflection appeared to be going out of bounds before instead, it bounced off an official’s leg right to Moody, who set up Dickson for the go-ahead layup.
Down the stretch, senior Braycen Freese, who was terrific in the second half, made five of six free throws to keep Windham in front.
The Navigators had one final look to extend the game, but senior Jaxon Cameron’s 3-point attempt came up short and the Eagles prevailed in an instant classic, 75-72.
Dickson was one of four Windham players in double figures with 25 points, helping the Eagles improved to 11-1 on the season while dropping Falmouth, which got a game-high 34 points from Mann, to 9-3 in the process.
“We feel like we’re never out of a game,” said Freese. “We’re always going to fight. We work on this stuff every day in practice. We never lost hope because we work so hard every day. We think we’re in every game.”
Thrills and chills
Windham and Falmouth are two of the top teams in the state, regardless of class, and both have played that way so far this winter.
The Navigators began their season with a 54-52 loss at Noble, then held off host Gray-New Gloucester (66-62), beat visiting Westbrook (70-65), eked out a 44-43 win at Marshwood, then gave longtime coach Dave Halligan his 600th career victory with a 68-42 win at Deering. After beating host Kennebunk (58-42) to close the old year, Falmouth began 2025 with wins over visiting Marshwood (54-21) and Brunswick (64-39). After Falmouth’s seven-game win streak was snapped at Scarborough (64-59), it beat host Westbrook (60-49), then Saturday, scored the final six points to hand visiting Noble its first setback, 54-51.
The Eagles, meanwhile, started by beating Lewiston (85-54), then downed Gorham in a state game rematch (75-67) before defeating Edward Little (78-56), Portland (56-49), Cheverus (59-55), Oxford Hills (75-55), Gorham (78-48) and Bangor (68-38) before falling from the unbeaten ranks with a 55-54 home loss to South Portland.
A loss that in retrospect, probably wasn’t the worst thing, coming when it did.
“We learned a lot of lessons about ourselves and how we’ll fight through adversity,” Freese said.
“I think that loss united the group,” said Eagles coach Chad Pulkkinen. “They saw what we needed to correct. We struggled a little bit against South Portland, but you learn from those things. That’s why they’re lessons, not losses.”
Windham bounced back by downing Marshwood (68-62) and Scarborough (73-70).
A year ago, Windham defeated visiting Falmouth, 59-41, en route to the program’s first-ever Gold Ball.
Tuesday, the Navigators were poised to return the favor until suddenly, the Eagles roared back and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
In stunning fashion.
Falmouth senior Davis Mann defends Windham senior Creighty Dickson during the teams’ showdown Tuesday night. Mann outscored Dickson, 34-25, but it would be the Eagles coming back to win, 75-72. Hoffer photos.
Both teams came out firing and just 11 seconds in, senior Declan O’Brien opened the scoring with a layup for the Navigators.
Windham got on the board on a driving layup from Janvrin, then, in a 24-second span, Janvrin drained a 3-pointer, then he took a pass from Freese and hit another 3 to produce a quick 8-2 advantage.
Senior Billy Birks set up O’Brien for a layup, but Moody made a free throw, then, after Janvrin kept possession alive with an offensive rebound, junior Tyrie James set up Freese for another 3 and a 12-4 lead.
After Mann set up O’Brien for a layup, Freese found Dickson in transition for a 3, forcing Halligan to call timeout.
It helped initially, as Birks scored on a runner, then Cameron sank two foul shots, but Freese scored on a runner in the lane, then Janvrin drove for a layup.
After Cameron pulled up for a jumper which bounced in, Moody rebounded his own miss, then he fed James for a 3.
Late in the frame, Mann scored his first points, driving and banking home a shot, but Dickson countered with a driving layup and the Eagles held a 24-14 lead after eight minutes.
The Navigators then wrested control back in the second period.
Birks got the frame started with a 3, then Birks set up Mann for a fastbreak layup to cut a 10-point deficit to five in under a minute.
Pulkkinen called timeout, but it didn’t help, as O’Brien found senior Ezra Hamlin for a layup and after Janvrin made a free throw, a Mann layup after a steal made it a two-point game, 25-23.
Dickson got a point back at the line for the visitors, but Birks drove and finished in traffic with a pretty up-and-under move.
After James made one free throw, a pair of foul shots from O’Brien with 4:51 on the clock forged a 27-27 tie.
With 3:59 remaining in the half, Mann scored on a contested turnaround while being fouled, then he added the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play for Falmouth’s first lead.
Freese tied the score with a 3, then Dickson went coast-to-coast for a layup to put Windham back in front, but Birks answered with a 3.
After Dickson drained a 3, Moody converted a three-point play, but the Navigators closed the half on a 10-2 run.
Mann got the run started with a three-point play, then he tied the score with a layup off an alley-oop feed from Birks.
A runner from Moody gave the Eagles the lead again, but with 36 seconds to go, on the fastbreak, O’Brien drained a 3, then with 4.7 seconds left, Cameron banked home a shot.
At the horn, sophomore Colin Janvrin nearly tied the score with a three-quarter-court prayer, but it hit the rim and Falmouth was up, 43-40, at the break.
Mann paced the Navigators with 14 first half points while Conor Janvrin and Dickson had 11 points apiece for Windham.
Falmouth then got some breathing room in the third quarter.
After Mann fed Hamlin for a layup to start the second half, Moody set up Dickson for a 3.
Cameron answered with a pullup jumper, then Hamlin drained a 3 to make it 50-43.
After Moody spun and finished, Mann scored on a contested leaner.
With 3:42 to go in the frame, Moody hit a jumper to cut the deficit to five, but Mann banked home a shot after a pretty fake, then Mann set up Birks on the fastbreak for a 56-47 advantage, forcing Pulkkinen to call timeout.
It didn’t help, as Mann banked home another shot in traffic, then he scored on a putback.
Finally, with 1:32 remaining, Moody’s 3-point shot hit the rim, then dropped in, snapping a 15-4 surge, but the Navigators held a 60-50 advantage heading to the final stanza.
Where all kinds of excitement and zaniness ensued.
Mann continued to dominate with a contested leaner 56 seconds in, then he made a free throw.
After two missed foul shots by the visitors, Mann sank two more free throws with 5:52 to play and just like that, the score was 65-50.
But as it turned it out, the Eagles had Falmouth right where they wanted it.
Freese began the comeback by taking a pass from James and driving for a layup.
Dickson then scored on a putback and Halligan took a timeout.
Out of the break, Mann was fouled and hit one-of-two attempts, but Dickson drained a 3, then with 3:16 left, after a steal, James drove for a layup, was fouled and added the and-one free throw to cut the deficit to 66-60.
Mann momentarily restored order by making a layup, but Dickson hit two free throws and after a Freese steal, Dickson made the first of two foul shots. He missed the second, but senior Joseph Blige got the offensive rebound and was fouled. He too made one free throw to make the score 68-64 with 2:08 on the clock.
“We just collected ourselves,” Pulkkinen said. “They got a lot of stuff we didn’t want them to get and we had to make adjustments and put some pressure on them. The guys believed in each other. They have championship experience.
“We know we can score a lot of points. We talked about how many points we scored in the first quarter and that it’s not unlike us to go on runs like that. We were due. Shots didn’t drop in the third quarter and the guys still believed in each other. It was just taking some gambles. We had to, we were down. We tried to put pressure on the basketball and hoped they wouldn’t make good decisions.”
Fourteen seconds later, after forcing another turnover, Windham drew within a single point, as James found Moody in the corner and Moody buried a 3, forcing Halligan to attempt another timeout.
Which again, couldn’t turn the tide.
With 1:45 remaining, Moody tipped the ball in the frontcourt and chased after it, but it appeared the ball was headed out of bounds to remain in Falmouth’s possession.
But instead, fate was smiling on the Eagles, as the ball inadvertently deflected off an official’s leg, stayed inbounds and Moody was able to collect it, then feed Dickson to put Windham in front to stay.
“It was just an effort play and I just took it to the rim,” Dickson said. “I wasn’t going to be denied.”
“We just executed the defense we worked on,” Freese said. “We did a good job at it.”
“That’s the game of basketball,” Pulkkinen added. “We had some back luck a couple plays before that and we’d missed some layups.”
After Mann attempted to put the home team in front, but short-rimmed his shot, Freese was fouled and he made both free throws with 1:35 to go for a 71-68 lead.
Birks then missed a shot and Dickson got the rebound.
The Eagles turned the ball over, but got it right back on a steal from Freese.
Then, with 35.2 seconds remaining, Dickson went to the line and while he missed his first shot, he made his second to make it a two-possession game.
Five seconds later, Mann got a point back at the line, but missed the second shot.
Mann did manage to get to the offensive rebound, but the Navigators immediately turned the ball over.
With 22.9 seconds to go, Freese went back to the line and again, he sank both shots to make it 74-69.
“I had to be confident,” Freese said. “If you don’t think you’ll make it, you won’t, but I knew they’d go in.”
“We have great shooters,” said Pulkkinen. “We have guys who have been working on their free throws and who had been in that situation.”
Mann kept hope alive by getting free, taking a pass from Cameron and draining a 3 with 11.2 seconds to go, making it a two-point game.
Freese went back to the line two seconds later, but he missed his first attempt, giving Falmouth life.
Freese sank his second attempt, but the Navigators had one final chance.
Falmouth raced the ball up the floor, hoping to get it to Mann or Birks for a shot which could have sent the game to overtime, but Windham denied that possibility and with time winding down, Cameron launched a 3-point attempt that came up short.
“We needed a 3 because we had no timeouts left,” said Halligan. “We needed to shoot even if we were guarded because maybe they’d foul us. We needed to take it earlier because if we missed, we’d get another chance, but it didn’t work out.”
“We tried to take away Billy and Davis and that’s hard to do because they’re two good players,” Pulkkinen said. “At the end of the day, we got the stop when we needed to.”
At 8:13 p.m., the Eagles were able to celebrate their memorable 75-72 victory.
“(Falmouth’s) a very good team,” Freese said. “It was a great game. It could have gone either way.”
“Our effort and our energy at the end was high,” said Dickson. “We just tried to stay straight up at the end, no fouls. It’s a good win. It helps our record.”
“It was just two good teams playing a lot of good basketball,” Pulkkinen added. “We beat a really good Falmouth team coming off a big win over Noble. We knew they were well-coached and that they’d shoot well and it would be a battle here at their place.”
Dickson stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
Moody added 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Freese had 15 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Conor Janvrin also wound up double figures with 11 points, to go with four rebounds.
James contributed seven points (as well as four assists, two rebounds and two steals) and Blige had one point.
Windham made 11 3-pointers to Falmouth’s five, hit 16-of-28 foul shots, had a slim 37-34 advantage on the glass and overcame 14 turnovers.
So close
Mann had himself a night, scoring a game-high 34 points, while adding four rebounds, three blocked shots, three assists and two steals.
“We put a lot on his shoulders,” Halligan said. “We needed some other guys to step up.”
Birks finished with 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
O’Brien also wound up in double figures with 11 points. He also had six rebounds and three steals.
Cameron tallied eight points (as well as four assists and three rebounds) and Hamlin had seven points and 10 rebounds.
The Navigators turned the ball over 17 times (nine times in the fateful fourth quarter) and hit 11-of-21 free throws.
“We just ran out of gas,” Halligan lamented. “They sped us up and we lost our patience. We had control of the game. We knew they were going to come with pressure and we had to continue to attack it, but we didn’t perform under pressure. Who knows, maybe we got tired. It was frustrating.
“Windham’s a good team. That’s what championship teams do. Give them a lot of credit for coming back. We got the ball to the right people in the right places, then we tried to sit on (the lead) a little bit. You can’t make mistakes against good teams. They make you pay every single time.”
Back to work
Windham (which is first in the Class AA North Heal Points standings) is home to face Bangor Friday.
“We have togetherness,” said Pulkkinen. “The guys play with joy and they just love basketball. If we play with joy and stay together, I like our chances. There’s been no championship talk, but we just want to do that every day and if we do, we’ll be pretty good.”
Falmouth (second behind Noble in Class A South) stays home to meet Gorham Friday. The Navigators go to Greely Monday.
“We’ll watch film tomorrow when we’re not as emotional and we’ll get better,” Halligan said. “I think it’s good we can bounce right back and play. We’ll get right back it.”
BOX SCORE
Windham 75 Falmouth 72
W- 24 16 10 25- 75
F- 14 29 17 12- 72
W- Dickson 8-5-25, Moody 6-2-16, Freese 4-5-15, Conor Janvrin 4-1-11, James 2-2-7, Blige 0-1-1
F- Mann 13-7-34, Birks 5-0-12, O’Brien 4-2-11, Cameron 3-2-8, Hamlin 3-0-7
3-pointers:
W (11) Dickson 4, Freese, Conor Janvrin, Moody 2, James
F (5) Birks 2, Hamlin, Mann, O’Brien
Turnovers:
W- 14
F- 17
Free throws
W: 16-28
F: 11-21
