Portland Prevails over North Branford

Three games into the 2010-11 campaign, the North Branford boys' varsity basketball team remains without its elusive first win. North Branford hosted Portland (1-2) on Monday night at the gymnasium of North Branford High School and fell to the Highlanders.

For the Thunderbirds, the game appeared to be under control early. North Branford stormed out of the gate, holding Portland to only two first-quarter baskets. A strong defensive effort pushed the Thunderbirds into the second quarter leading by a score of 11-4.

The Highlanders were not going to leave North Branford without a fight.

Portland rebounded quickly and came out with an early second-quarter run. A three-pointer by Kyle Philipchik was followed by another Highlander basket which made it a two-point game at the 6:28 mark.

The Thunderbirds responded on buckets by Mike Forgione and Chris Yu, putting North Branford up, 17-11, with 4:19 to go in the half. Portland senior Kevin Philipchik's series of baskets, a jump shot followed by two three-pointers, sent Portland trailing by one point at the half.

The third quarter began with a bang for the Thunderbirds when Taylor Gamache connected on a 3-point play on the opening possession. Though North Branford led by five at the 5:19 mark, a 4-0 run from Portland left the Thunderbirds trailing by five heading into the final quarter.

The Thunderbirds tried to recover, trimming the deficit to three midway through the fourth quarter.

It appeared as though momentum was about to shift when Gamache was again fouled at the 2:42 mark. The basket was good. Though the foul shot was missed, North Branford would then pull within one when a pass found an open Gamache underneath the basket.

Portland would have the final say when Kevin Philipchik was fouled and sunk both foul shots, putting the Highlanders up by three.

Though the outcome of the game was not to North Branford's advantage, head coach Jamie Leggett was pleased with the effort shown by the Thunderbirds tonight.

"All we talked about before was effort. We had to play hard. We had to play for each other and for the good of the team -- not selfishly, and we did. So I'm happy," Leggett said.

The leading scorer on the night was North Branford's Gamache, with 19 points. Portland's Kevin Philipchik was second with 17.

"The game Taylor had was what we've been expecting, so I'm not surprised," Leggett said. "I'm not happy with the loss but I'm happy with how we played."

For Portland coach Nate Turner, the Highlanders need to focus on playing together as a unit. 

"I'm happy we won the game but we didn't play together as a team down the stretch," Turner said. "To be successful, you've got to play together as a team for 32 minutes. We got lucky."

Portland will play out of conference versus Canton next, while the Thunderbirds will focus on highly-touted Valley Regional.