Inside and outside. The Buckfield boys basketball team had it working in the second half of Tuesday’s Western Maine Class D boys high school preliminary basketball game against East- West Conference rival Richmond.

The Bobcats needed to answer, and answer they did, receiving key contributions in a 62-57 victory.

Richmond heads to the Augusta Civic Center for Saturday’s Western D quarterfinal against top-seeded Forest Hills, while the Bucks ended their season with a 9-10 mark.

“It is very satisfying to have this chance, and to have reached the goal of making it to Augusta is huge for us,” said Richmond coach Jonathan Spear.

Richmond, which led by as many as 12 points in the first half, watched Buckfield make several second-half charges, twice cutting the lead down to two. But, Richmond made 10- of-14 at the foul line in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

“In practice we have struggled with free throws, and we have worked on it a lot, so it was great to make those shots,” said Richmond senior Randy Moody, who led the Bobcats with 17 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. “We have struggled when teams have given us a punch and we don’t hit them back. But, today we did answer and that was big.”

The visitors answer

Trailing 23-11 after a Richmond 13-0 run, Buckfield chipped away at the lead by going inside to Keenan Stockdale, who scored nine of his 17 points in the first half as the Bucks cut the deficit down to seven, 26-19 at the break.

“It gave us a little bit of hope going into the second half, and the flow of the game changed when we got the ball down low,” said Buckfield coach Chris Reed.

Richmond led 32-23 when Buckfield guard Micah Madore drove to the basket for two tough inside points. Madore was just getting started, as he found a spot he liked, draining three consecutive 3-pointers from the corner, the last getting the Bucks to 37-34 late in the third quarter.

“I don’t know what it was, but I was feeling it,” said Madore, who finished with 16 points.

“They threw a great wrinkle at us and were getting all their points from the inside, and then we doubled-down and they put the ball outside to Madore and he had a great game hitting those shots,” said Spear.

Richmond found its flow again, ending the third quarter with a 5-1 spurt for a 42-35 lead.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair. Buckfield received eight fourthquarter points from Stockdale, and Jared Eastman’s runner brought the Bucks to within 48-46 with 3:46 remaining. Richmond’s defense held, and Stockdale picked up his fifth foul with 3:09 left.

Eddie Stewart, who scored nine of his 11 points in the first half, made his only bucket of the second half for a 50- 46 Richmond lead, and Tyler Soucy took a long pass from Randy Moody in stride and finished for a 52-46 advantage.

“We had great moments from freshman Tyler Soucy, and Eddie Stewart played a great game. It was more heart than I have seen us play with all year,” said Spear.

Jason Patterson’s two free throws stretched Richmond’s advantage to 54-47 with 2:17 left, but the Bucks had one more run left. Scott Pierce pulled down his own missed free throw and finished, and Tyler Goyette answered a Patterson bucket to make for a 56-51 contest. Moody made two free throws, but Madore drained his fourth and final trey to get the Bucks within 58-54.

After Moody made one of two at the line, Goyette drove to the basket for two and made a free throw after a steal to make it a two-point game again, 59-57. An Eastman steal gave Buckfield an opportunity to tie the game or take its first lead since 11-10 in the opening quarter, but a turnover and a free throw by Sean Bernier made for a 60-57 Richmond lead.

Buckfield had one more chance, but Eastman’s 3-point attempt was long, and Moody made two free throws to ice it.

“He certainly stepped up and they were incredibly huge foul shots,” said Spear of Moody. “Randy has worked on his free-throw shooting all year. We talked before the game, and I told him he had to step up and be that guy. Tonight he certainly was.”

Goyette chipped in 10 points for Buckfield, while Eastman had eight. Buckfield shot 35 percent (21 of 60) from the floor and made 10 of 22 at the foul line. Jonah Williams pulled down 10 rebounds in the loss.

Eddie Stewart had eight rebounds for Richmond, while Bernier and Jason Patterson picked up 10 points each. Soucy came off the bench to add six points, while Mike Stewart contributed five.

The Bobcats were 21 of 46 (45 percent) from the floor and 16 of 31 at the charity stripe.

No. 8 Richmond 62, No. 9 Buckfield 57

Western Maine Class D Preliminary
At Richmond
Buckfield — 11 8 16 22 — 57
Richmond — 14 12 16 20 — 62
Buckfield — Jared Eastman 3-2-8, Jeffrey
Pepin 1-0-2, Jonah Williams 0-1-1,
Robert Rowe 0-1-1, Keenan Stockdale 8-
1-17, Scott Pierce 1-0-2, Tyler Goyette 3-
3-10, Micah Madore 5-2-16. Totals — 21-
10-57.
Richmond — Cam Emmons 1-0-3, Sean
Bernier 4-1-10, Randy Moody 3-9-17,
Eddie Stewart 5-1-11, Jason Patterson 4-
2-10, Mike Stewart 1-3-5, Tyler Soucy 3-
0-6, Xavier Trask 0-0-0, Bailey Johanson
0-0-0. Totals — 21-16-62.
3-point goals — (B) Madore 4, Goyette;
(R) Moody 2, Bernier, Emmons.
Records — Richmond 8-11, Buckfield 9-
10.
Next for the Bobcats — Saturday in the
Western D quarterfinals against top-seeded Forest Hills (16-2), 1 p.m. at the
Augusta Civic Center.