Sophomore center Charlie Lyall, a transfer from Waynflete, saw limited action for most of the regular season, then began to see his minutes increase late in the year.
With Portland needing size in the middle to counter Falmouth standout Jack Simonds, the 6-foot-5 Lyall got his chance Saturday night and made the most of it.
Lyall scored eight points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bulldogs to their second straight Western Class A basketball title with a 57-47 victory against the Yachtsmen at the Cross Insurance Arena.
Portland (19-2) will meet Hampden Academy (19-2) for the Class A state title at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.
It will be a repeat matchup: Portland defeated the Broncos 54-40 for the Gold Ball last season.
After a wide-open third quarter in which the Bulldogs outscored Falmouth 22-19, the game slowed to a crawl. With Portland content to run down the clock, nursing a four-point lead, the first 41/2 minutes were scoreless.
Then came Lyall. He scored back-to-back inside baskets to push the lead to eight, then hauled down a rebound after a Simonds 3-point attempt.
The Bulldogs ran more time off, then Lyall sank two free throws with 1:42 left to give the Bulldogs a 10-point lead. All that was left was the celebrating.
“I’ve been waiting for my chance,” said Lyall. “I knew I could do it if I got a chance. They needed me for rebounding and scoring.”
With the regular center, Tanner Foley, feeling sick, Lyall got the call.
“Charlie has a soft touch inside an that’s what we needed,” said Coach Joe Russo. “To win a tournament, you always need an unknown player. Charlie was that tonight.”
Falmouth went cold in the fourth quarter. Simonds, who had 42 points in the semifinal victory against South Portland, didn’t score after collecting 23 points through three quarters. But Portland’s quickness and athleticism wore down the Yachtsmen (17-4).
“We wanted to make it a 94-foot game,” said Russo.
The Bulldogs were 10 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter.
“We gave it our best shot,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “We didn’t quit. It’s tough playing back-to-back games, especially the way we play with a lot of high energy. I have to give Thomas Coyne a lot of credit for coming back from a broken foot at the start of the season and giving it the effort he did.”
Despite the loss, Simonds was named the winner of the George Vinall Trophy as the tournament’s outstanding player/sportsman.
Stephen Alex and Amir Moss led the Bulldogs with 14 points apiece.
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