AUGUSTA — Top-seeded Forest Hills overcame its stiffest challenge of the season Saturday to remain unbeaten and advance to the Class D state championship game for the second time in three seasons.
Ryan Petrin scored 32 points as the Tigers pulled away from fourth-seeded Hyde in the fourth quarter for a 64-50 win at the Augusta Civic Center.
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The Tigers (21-0) will play Fort Fairfield (17-4) for the state title at 2:45 p.m. next Saturday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Hyde (16-5) pushed Forest Hills – which averaged 68.1 points per game while allowing 33.1 points per game during the regular season – to the limit.
“We haven’t seen anybody who has five athletes like that, let alone two kids off the bench, in size and speed,” Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero said. “We just haven’t seen that caliber of team.”
Forest Hills clung to a 21-20 lead at halftime.
Hyde turned a 9-0 run during the first quarter into an early 13-4 lead, but the Tigers – who hit only 8 of 23 shots in the first half – clawed their way back into the game.
Forest Hills went on a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter to make it 13-10.
Despite committing 16 turnovers in the first half, the Phoenix held an 18-13 lead less than five minutes into the second quarter, but the Tigers went on an 8-2 tear in the final 2:50 of the first half to take the lead.
“Defensively, we were solid for a while,” Hyde Coach Corey Begly said. “We tried to make it tough inside. We focused on (Tanner Daigle), but the other post guy (Petrin) got us.
“Maybe, we should have doubled both of them, but what can you do?”
Petrin, a 6-2 senior forward who received the John Messina Award as the regional tournament’s outstanding player, scored the bulk of his 32 points on offensive rebounds or strong moves to the basket.
“Coach said to get (the ball) inside and get them in foul trouble,” Petrin said. “In the first quarter we got them in foul trouble pretty quick. All we wanted to do was to pound in the paint and see if we could get their starters out.”
The strategy worked as four of Hyde’s starters fouled out, and Tigers gradually pulled away from the Phoenix by sinking 23 of 35 free throws during the second half. Daigle, a 6-4 senior center, scored 13 points, while Matt Turner, a senior guard, added 11 points.
Antoine Montgomery, a senior point guard, scored 25 points to help keep the Phoenix (16-5) in the game for the first three quarters. He made some extremely difficult jump shots, but the Tigers did a good job of restricting his ability to pass the ball inside.
“We knew he was going to get some points, but we were not going to let (their) guys get free layups,” Amero said. “That’s exactly what we tried to do was not bite on his penetration.”
Forest Hills scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 41-33 lead. The Phoenix closed to within four points twice on baskets by Montgomery but could get no closer.
“Our guys fought real hard, and I’m really proud of them,” Begly said. “At the end, we needed a couple of big stops, and we couldn’t get the stop that we needed.”
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