AUGUSTA — Junior forward Warsame Mohamed scored 18 points and Hyde’s 2-3 zone held Seacoast Christian to two points in the second quarter as the Phoenix pulled away for a 45-35 win Saturday morning in a Western Class D boys’ basketball quarterfinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

Seventh-seeded Seacoast (10-9) jumped out to a 13-10 first-quarter lead, but second-seeded Hyde (15-3) outscored the Guardians 15-2 in the second quarter to take a 25-15 lead into halftime. Seacoast never got closer than 10 points in the second half.

“We were excited, we were nervous, we had to settle down,” said Mohamed, whose season high is 28 points. “We knew we had to slow everything down. We switched to a zone and that helped in the high post.”

Seacoast Christian’s Silas Thomas opened the game with a layup and a 3-pointer, and Logan Archer hit a jumper in the lane to put Seacoast up 7-2 midway through the first quarter.

Mohamed scored on a layup and a jumper later in the quarter to cut Hyde’s deficit to three.
Logan said the Guardians played the best they could but didn’t have enough to sustain their early momentum.

“We couldn’t finish,” said Archer, who led Seacoast with 13 points.

Archer scored seven points in a 2-minute span of the third quarter to bring Seacoast within 33-23. But Hyde’s Wondo Shaw hit a short jumper and Mohamed made back-to-back layups as Hyde regained control.

Mohamed was 9 for 18 from the floor. He said the Phoenix needed to work on its defense down low and get off to a better start in its regional semifinal Wednesday against No. 3 Valley.

“I’m already looking to the next game,” he said.

Deirdre Fleming can be reached at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@pressherald.com