WELLS — Wells shook off an early 11-9 deficit and a dominating first-half performance by Morse’s Matt Munster for a 63-53 Western Maine Class B preliminary victory on Tuesday in high school boys basketball action.

The sixth-seeded Warriors (11-8) led 22-18 at the half despite 15 points from Munster, who finished with a team-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Ethan Winglass chipped in 18 points for the Shipbuilders, who finished 7- 12 and loses seniors D’Vaughn Myers, Munster, Jordan Lister, Paul Whalen and Kevin McKellar.

“The seniors took the loss hard,” said Morse first-year coach Sam Hayes. “These seniors led us to where we went. Their legacy coming in was whether or not they could improve on last season, and their character was tremendous. They never quit.”

Wells, paced by 26 points from Jake Moody, outscored Morse 21-13 in the third quarter for a 43-31 advantage. The Shipbuilders cut the lead down to seven points on a Liam McDonough 3-pointer with 4:30 remaining in the final frame, but Moody made his free throws to advance Wells to Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup with third-seeded Cape Elizabeth at the Portland Expo.

“In the third quarter, we got away from running our offense and getting the ball inside,” said Hayes. “I couldn’t have been prouder of the way we battled and didn’t quit. Now, we will see how things go in the spring, summer and fall to get us ready for next season.”

Dylan Stevens chipped in 17 points for Wells, while Chris Carney had 10.