Cohen Galley celebrates after cutting down the nets as Oceanside celebrates after beating Lincoln Academy 73-48 in the Class B South boys' basketball regional final on Saturday in Portland. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

It was back to form, and back to the Class B championship game for the Oceanside High boys’ basketball team.

After surviving a tough-shooting night in its regional semifinal win against Medomak Valley, the top-seeded and unbeaten Mariners – and especially sharpshooter Carter Galley – returned to their high-scoring ways with a flourish Friday afternoon, routing second-seeded Lincoln Academy 73-48 at a jam-packed Portland Expo.

“I was honestly just glad we won (our semifinal). Medomak is a very good team, and if we can beat them by 14 with me having only three points, that proves a lot about our team,”  Galley said. “I just put it behind me and came into this game like it was just any other game this year, and I shot well, finally.”

Galley averaged 30 points per game and made 45% of his 3-point shots during the season. Scoring only three points in a game was down-right strange.

“I’ve coached him now for four years, and I’ve seen him have one game where he really wasn’t on, which was last game, so I had a feeling he would be on fire,” said Oceanside Coach Larry Reed.

It took Galley 51 seconds to score four points against Lincoln. By halftime, he had 23 of his 35 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 7 on 3-point shots. Overall, Galley was 13 of 19 from the floor and made all four of his free throws.

Galley’s twin brother, Cohen, was also impressive with 13 first-half points and tenacious rebounding for the Mariners (21-0). Cohen Galley was named the Pete Harnois Player of the Class B South tournament. Zeb Foster (eight points) and Ben Tripp also hit from deep in the first half, which ended with Oceanside fully in command, 44-20.

“Our team relies on me, Cohen and Zeb for a lot of our energy, so when all three of us are going and hyped up, it just spreads through like a wildfire,” Carter Galley said.

After winning a second straight regional title, Oceanside moves on to the state championship game next Friday at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor against Orono, which beat Old Town in the North final. Oceanside lost to Orono in last season’s state championship game.

“I think we’re the best team in the state. I think we can compete with anyone,” Foster said. “It feels good to get back, but the job’s not finished. Last year, after winning (the regional final) we were running around, crying, excited, and we know that’s not what we want. We want a Gold Ball.”

Oceanside also received strong play from freshman center Trevin Ripley (seven points), and its 2-3 zone was able to create turnovers and limit Lincoln’s looks from outside.

“I’m really happy. I’m more happy about the way we played today than anything,” Reed said. “We came out ready to pounce. Our defensive intensity was 100 percent from the very beginning. We were hitting shots. Everything went really well early.”

Lincoln (17-4) was playing in its first regional final since winning the 1989 Class B state championship. The Eagles lost two regular-season games to Oceanside, 11 days apart. The second game, a 67-65 setback in Rockland, was the closest contest Oceanside has played all season.

The Eagles were more fluid in the second half but were unable to take a significant slice out of the Mariners’ lead. Casey Duncan led Lincoln with 17 points. Gabe Hagar scored 13.

“We’re building a program here. We’re not just a one-and-done. We’re coming back,” said Lincoln Coach Ryan Ball.

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