If the Gorham boys’ basketball team needed a reminder of what happened the last time it played Deering, it came in the first quarter.

Deering may have only won eight games, but one of them came against Gorham.

Down six points after the first quarter, top-seeded Gorham pulled ahead in the second, held off a Deering rally in the third and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 61-52 win in a Class AA South semifinal Thursday night at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

“It definitely gave us motivation (losing to Deering) but coming out here is enough motivation, stepping on this floor,” said Gorham senior guard Ashton Leclerc, who scored 23 points. “We lost in the quarterfinals the last two years; that was out motivation.”

Top-seeded Gorham (17-2) will play No. 2 Scarborough (16-4) in the regional final at 8:45 p.m. Saturday at Cross Arena. No. 5 Deering ends the season at 8-12.

“We wanted to be tested. We want to be pushed to our best, and Deering’s a tough matchup for us. They proved it, they beat us once. I think that was good for us. We knew they could beat us,” said Gorham Coach Ryan Deschenes.

Deering led 13-7 after the first quarter, as Gorham settled for perimeter shots rather than attacking the various zones the Deering defense showed. Deering primarily used a 3-2 zonw, but mixed in a 1-3-1 and 2-3.

“I don’t think people expected that, but every single one of us in the locker room expected that. I felt we matched up well with them,” Deering Coach Todd Wing said. “They’re the No. 1 team for a reason. They’re strong from the outside, they get strong guard play, and they were just a little better than us tonight.”

Gorham opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 16-13 lead, and led 22-20 at the half. In the second half, Gorham did a better job attacking the basket, getting the ball down low to Griffin Gammon, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, and Gabe Michaud (12 points),

Deering used a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter to take a brief 31-29 lead on a basket by Tayshaun Cleveland (10 points), but Gorham closed the quarter with a 10-3 run to take a 39-33 lead into the fourth.

“As veteran a team as we are, this was still our first game here together. I think we needed that first quarter,” Deschenes said. “We knew we just had to get stops. We got rebounds, and the pace improved in the second half.”

Gorham finally pushed the lead to 10 points, 51-41, on a Caden Smith bucket with 1:51 to play. Over the final 1:20, Gorham made 10 of 12 free throws. Leclerc was perfect at the line, going 12 for 12 for the game.

“Trust your work,” Leclerc said. “I put a ton of work in my free throws in the offseason, and I trust myself.”

Gammon had nine rebounds to go with his 15 points. For Deering, Mogga Yanga had 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Evan Legassey also scored 10 points.

“It’s a matter of hitting a couple more shots when it comes down to it. It’s a couple defensive plays and a couple offensive plays,” Wing said.

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