AUGUSTA — Mason Desjardins scored 27, Cooper Daigle added 19 points and 16 rebounds, and top-seeded Forest Hills defeated No. 2 Valley, 57-39, on Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center to win its fourth consecutive Class D South boys’ basketball title.

Forest Hills (18-3), known for its prolific scoring, relied on its defense to advance to face Southern Aroostook in the state championship game next Saturday at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

“Our defense really came through for us today,” said Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero, whose team had beaten Valley 90-83 and 66-56 in the regular season. “We tried some different defenses against them in our place and in Bingham, but we saved our best game plan against them for this game, and we got it done.”

Forest Hills went up double digits early, with Desjardins hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Daigle dominating the paint. The Tigers led 24-9 with five minutes to go in the half after Desjardins’ fourth 3-pointer forced a timeout from the Cavaliers.

“I think I’m always pretty confident in my shot, and I have the green light to shoot from pretty much anywhere,” Desjardins said. “Coach Amero has a lot of confidence in me, so I have to be responsible and make sure I’m not taking bad shots. Today, I was feeling it, and those ones went in.”

Valley (13-8) rallied out of the timeout, as Fisher Tewksbury keyed an 11-2 run before a Daigle layup right before the buzzer made it 28-20 at halftime. Then in the third quarter, Tewksbury scored seven straight points to pull the Cavaliers within six.

Forest Hills, though, ended the third quarter with a 10-0 run, and both teams went the first four minutes of the fourth without a basket. A 3-point frenzy from Valley’s Harry Louis was too late, as Forest Hills won its seventh regional title in the past 11 tournaments.

“It never gets old; I think it gets better every time,” said Desjardins.

Tewksbury finished with 22 points, and Louis added 13. Both are freshmen.

“We’re moving in an upward direction,” said Valley Coach Mike Staples. “We’re very young; I think we had three freshmen out on the floor at one time today, and two of them played the entire game. I cry for the seniors that I’m losing, but we’re excited about the future.”

DIRIGO 64, MONMOUTH ACADEMY 47: Charlie Houghton finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds as the top-seeded Cougars (20-1) successfully defended their Class C South championship with a win over the second-seeded Mustangs (17-4) in Augusta.

Dakota Tompkins added 16 points for Dirigo, the reigning state champion. The Cougars will play Calais in the state final next Saturday in Bangor.

Monmouth’s Sammy Calder scored 14 points.

ORONO 64, ELLSWORTH 56: Pierce Walston scored eight of his 21 points in the first quarter to help Orono (18-3) build an 18-6 lead, and the third-seeded Red Riots (18-3) knocked off the top-seeded Eagles (20-1) in the Class A North final at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.

Ben Francis added 17 points for Orono, which claimed its first regional title since 1996. The Red Riots will play Oceanside in the state championship game next Saturday in Portland.

Chance Mercier scored 27 points for Ellsworth, but no one else reached double figures.

SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 78, MACHIAS 46: Dylan Burpee and Drake Weston combined for 11 3-pointers and the top-seeded Warriors (21-0) won their second straight Class D North championship, routing the second-seeded Tigers (16-5) at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Southern Aroostook, the reigning state champion, raced to a 24-5 lead after one quarter and expanded it from their. The Warriors will play for another title next Saturday in Bangor against Forest Hills.

Burpee made five 3-pointers on the way to 25 points, while Weston sank six 3s and finished with 22 points. Graham Siltz added 17 points.

Shane Feeney and Kason Ferguson each had 12 points for Machias.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

ELLSWORTH 59, OLD TOWN 52: The second-seeded Eagles (18-3) closed the game with a 9-1 run to beat the top-seeded Coyotes (20-1) in the Class B North final at Cross Insurance Center, winning their first regional title since 1992.

Abby Radel scored 21 points and Elizabeth Boles had 10 for Ellsworth, which will play Spruce Mountain in the state final next Saturday at Portland’s Cross Insurance Arena. Neither school has won a girls’ basketball state championship.

Saige Evans led Old Town with 21 points. Taylor Loring finished with 11, including a 3-pointer with 1:20 left that gave the Coyotes a 51-50 lead.

DEXTER 34, PENOBSCOT VALLEY 27: The top-seeded Tigers (20-1) opened a 14-3 lead in the first quarter and held off the second-seeded Howlers (19-2) in the Class C North final at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.

Abby Corson scored 11 points and Hannah Dean added 10 for Dexter, which advances to play Old Orchard Beach in the state championship game next Saturday in Bangor.

Holly Loring led Penobscot Valley with 15 points.

SOUTHERN AROOSTOOK 53, WISDOM 49: A layup by Ally Shields broke a 49-49 tie with 20 seconds remaining, lifting the Warriors (18-3) over the Pioneers (20-1) for their fifth consecutive Class D North title, in Bangor.

Maddie Russell added two clinching free throws and finished with 16 points as Southern Aroostook, the defending state champion, set up a rematch with Seacoast Christian next Saturday at Cross Insurance Center. The Warriors are seeking their fourth state title in five seasons.

Southern Aroostook also got 13 points from Emmalee Landry and 11 from Cami Shields.

Wisdom was paced by Lilly Roy with 17 points. Ava Lerman scored 12, Olivia Ouellette had 11, and Alexis Silva made three 3-pointers for nine points.

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