AUGUSTA — Vinalhaven’s depth and quickness caught up to top-seeded Forest Hills in a Western Class D boys’ basketball semifinal Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center.
The fifth-seeded Vikings ran and pressed and led by as many as 12 points before Forest Hills rallied behind senior Dylan McNally. But Vinalhaven pulled away in the last four minutes to post a 53-44 victory and advance to the regional final for the second year in a row.
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And for the second straight year the Vikings (11-6) will play Richmond in Saturday afternoon’s championship game. The third-seeded Bobcats (15-3) knocked off Greenville, 63-47.
The Tigers (14-6) led by as many as six points in the second quarter but couldn’t sustain the lead. Vinalhaven closed the first half with a 6-0 run to take a 24-20 lead it never relinquished.
“I would say they just had more athletes on the floor than we did,” Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero said. “We’re pretty limited and we knew that going into it.”
The Vikings employed a zone press that forced several of the Tigers’ 25 turnovers. They were effective even after starters Steven Osgood and Brian Stanley went to the bench after early foul trouble.
“I’m very fortunate that I have a lot of good ballplayers on this team,” Vinalhaven Coach Matt Slivinsky said. “My two main guys, if they get in foul trouble, if I can keep it even I’d rather save them for the second half.”
Osgood, the team’s leading scorer, had just two points in the first half, but senior teammate Willie Drury filled the void with 14 of his 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“I play a lot but I don’t usually score,” Drury said. “The last tournament game we won, I didn’t score any points at all.
Osgood returned in the second half and immediately stole the ball twice for easy layups. That started an 11-0 run that gave the Vikings a 35-23 lead.
“You could see the Osgood kid when he came on in the third quarter,” Amero said. “He looked so fast compared to anybody out there.”
McNally led a Forest Hills charge with nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, all of them in the paint. His three-point play with 4:59 left drew the Tigers to within 43-42.
“I was thinking comeback,” McNally said. “Honestly, I thought we were going to pull that one out.”
Two free throws from Dillon Ames (10 points) upped the lead to 45-42 before Stanley hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle.
“That was the dagger,” McNally said.
The Vikings made 10 of 20 shots in the second half and shot 20 of 49 for the game. The Tigers finished 18 of 32 from the floor. Forest Hills junior Ray Petrin had 13 rebounds, and sophomore Evan Worster scored nine points.
Gary Hawkins — 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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