No. 3 Skowhegan (14-6) earned a convincing 54-34 victory over No. 7 Messalonskee (8-12) on Wednesday night at the Augusta Civic Center in an A North boys basketball semifinal.
The victory locks in the River Hawks’ spot in Friday night’s A North regional final and will play the winner of No. 5 Cony (12-7) and No. 1 Brewer (18-1).
The River Hawks took a 33-26 lead into the fourth quarter and went on a 17-3 run to start the quarter.
“It’s funny because when we played the first time we went into the fourth down one, and then won by 18,” Skowhegan coach Tom Nadeau said. “We found a few things that seemed to work and went with it.”
Skowhegan reaches the regional final for the first time since 2019. If the River Hawks reach the Class A title game, it will be the first for the team since 1998.
Patrick McKenney and Kyle LePage paced Skowhegan with 12 points a piece, while Collin LePage poured in 11. Messalonskee’s leading scorer was Merrick Smith with 14.
“A perfect example of our depth was when we played Cony at Cony [on Feb. 6] and we had six guys in double figures,” Nadeau said. “It makes it a challenge for your opponent when you can’t zone on any one player.”
Skowhegan handed Brewer its lone loss at Brewer on Feb. 3, 49-48, and is excited to get another chance at the Witches.
“We’re going to have to control the board the best we can,” Nadeau said. “That was a key up at their place. Defensively limit penetration and contest. Offensively we have to execute. We had moments we did and we didn’t.”