GIRLS RECAP OK, so these Bears don’t want to talk a lot about a championship. Fair enough. That’s actually a pretty mature road to take. Northwestern still looms, as do Wamogo and Terryville. Seven left, business to take care of. But there’s something cooking on the Clocktown grill, and it’s getting close to being done. There’s a strong scent of title in the air. The Thomaston High girls had the look Friday night of a team that will wear a crown well, winning another rugged, mano-a-mano matchup with Lewis Mills, 55-40. So now the record is a perfectly glossy 13-0, two games better than Wamogo (11-2) and Northwestern (10-2) and now three games up on Mills (10-3). Still, these Bears know the time for a title may come, but it is not yet at hand. “It’s within our grasp, but we have a lot of work to do,” said Brittany Brandt, one half of the twin sister terror tandem. “Anything can happen. We have a lot of work to do. But we want it pretty bad.” It was all on display against a Mills team that gave the Bears all they could handle through three periods. There was the disruptive defensive pressure fueled by Morgan Doyle, who harassed the Mills frontcourt into chaos at times. There was Sciarra Brandt (15 points, six boards) who may be the league’s best player who spends most of her time down low unless she is burying 3-pointers (two on this night). Oh, yeah, there was Lizzie Eberhardt bombing 3-pointers. On most nights, Eberhardt earns her notoriety the hard way, with tireless Energizer Bunny-type defense. With the ball? Here and there, but not her forte. Well, at least not most nights. Mills had done a gritty job of holding Thomaston to just a 23-18 lead at the half. And that was after high-scoring center Amanda Adamski (16 points) spent most of the second quarter on the bench saddled with three fouls. Then boom! Here came the Bears out of halftime pounding away with a long-range assault. Mills left Eberhardt open, and she steadied and rattled in her first 3-pointer. Twenty seconds later, Brittany Brandt drilled one from the side. A little over a minute later, Eberhardt banked one off the glass that she didn’t call. “I knew it was in,” said Bears assistant Bill Ryan. OK, coach. But maybe not. “They definitely made a difference,” said Mills guard Nicole Bisson. “We didn’t underestimate (Eberhardt), but you look at Doyle and the two Brandts to do most of the scoring. You have to give her credit; they were pretty good,” Also, maybe the difference. “An absolute killer,” admitted Mills coach Dennis Fowler. “Not only the two threes, but the one that banked in. We were feeling good at half only down five and then that. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good, but Thomaston was both good and lucky tonight.” As for Eberhardt, she was open and shot it. “I’ve been concentrating more on my form this year, and Coach (Bob McMahon) says if you are open, shoot it,” said Eberhardt. “I was surprised (the banker) went in.” The Bears actually built the lead to 32-18, only to see Mills cut the gap down to 38-33 by the end of the period on the strength of a late 7-1 run keyed by four points from Katherine Bayne. The Bears marched to the foul line in the fourth quarter, where Doyle did her damage. Able to get to the hoop and the foul line, she canned nine of 10 free throws, scoring 11 of her game-high 18 points in the period. Mills got no closer than eight points as the lead slowly grew to its final margin. Both Fowler and Bisson pointed to Thomaston’s defense and experience, with five senior starters, as the difference between the two teams. Fowler has long touted the Bears as the BL’s team this year. Nice compliment, Coach. But the Bears will wait before staking their claim. In the meantime, the smell of a title is growing stronger. -Courtesy Rep-Am-  BOYS RECAP Thomaston 63, Lewis Mills 56: The Golden Bears scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to steal the win from the Spartans in Burlington. Thomaston outscored Lewis Mills 30-19 in the fourth quarter to turn a four-point deficit into a seven-point victory. Nick Russo led the Golden Bears with 20 points. Eric April added 14 points while Chad Pierce and Brett Cody each scored 10. Evan Olson led Lewis Mills with 18 points. Austin Hoyt added 12 points while Jeremy Dunn chipped in seven. Nate Wade and Chris Long each had six points while Ben Borkowski added five for the Spartans. -Courtesy Register Citizen-