AUGUSTA

Forgive Hyde guard Antoine Montgomery if he has no recollection of the tough history the Phoenix boys basketball team has endured at the Augusta Civic Center.

The junior, in his first season with Hyde, has heard the stories of last-second losses to teams like Valley and Forest Hills just over the past few years, but showed his team that this is possibly a new era for the Phoenix.

Montgomery put his team onto his shoulders, scoring 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Phoenix rallied for a 61-47 Western Maine Class D semifinal win against No. 2 Valley on Wednesday, sending Hyde to Saturday’s Western D final, which begins at 2:45 p.m. Hyde will take on undefeated and top-seeded Forest Hills, which rolled to a 78-41 victory over No. 4 Seacoast Christian in the other Wednesday semifinal.

Down 43-41 early in the fourth after the Cavaliers (15-5) outscored the Phoenix 17-6 in the third quarter, Montgomery took over. His lay-up inside gave Hyde a 45- 43 lead, and moments later he picked up a steal, drove hard to the hoop and was fouled while calmly putting in the shot. The three-point play made for a 48-43 game, and a minute later, Montgomery scored again for a seven-point lead with 5:04 remaining.

“We just showed the toughness that we always talk about, and everybody played their game and just kept going,” said Montgomery, who also dished out eight assists and feels his team is ready for the Western D final. “We are going to bring as much energy to this building as we can on Saturday, and with our fans it is going to be loud. We are going to get after it.”

“He is a true point guard, either with a dish or getting to the basket, and is just an ultimate team player,” said Hyde coach Corey Begly of Montgomery.

Valley rallies

It appeared that Hyde was in for another tough Augusta Civic Center loss. Valley, which trailed 33-24 at the half, opened the second half with a 7-0 run keyed by Collin Miller (17 points) and Cody Laweryson (19 points). Hyde withstood the initial Cavaliers onslaught, but Valley eventually caught and went ahead of the Phoenix on a Laweryson jumper for a 41-39 advantage.

“We needed to pick up the intensity, and there was no reason to give up,” said Hyde forward Gregory Kidger, who chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds.

Hyde received a boost from forward Shemar Jack, who twice battled underneath the basket for offensive boards and went back up for four big points. His bucket with 7:13 remaining tied the game at 43, and Montgomery took over from there. A big swing for Hyde came after Laweryson swished a 3-pointer to cut Hyde’s lead to 50-46. Montgomery answered right away on the other end, and tallied Hyde’s next eight points during a 10-0 run to close things out.

“I think we learned a lot from the last time we played them a couple weeks ago, and that loss has really propelled us to where we are right now,” said Begly of his 16-4 team. “We work on lategame situations in practice, and that helps us. Plus, we have had so many close games this year against teams like Waynflete, Greater Portland, Seacoast Christian. We learned a lot.”

Hyde controlled the opening half. Down 7-6, an 8-0 run gave Hyde the lead, 14-6. The Phoenix held a 19-12 advantage after a quarter.

But, Valley crept back in the game, using a six-point spurt to get to 19-18, and Miller’s lay-up made for a 20- 20 contest with 5:09 remaining until halftime,

It was Hyde’s turn to go on a run, this one an 11-0 spurt with Kidger scoring seven points as the Phoenix grabbed a 31-20 lead before eventually heading to the intermission with a ninepoint edge.

Hyde shot 49 percent (22- of-45) for the game, and made 15-of-21 at the freethrow line. Andrew Palermo added eight points, five rebounds and three steals, while Kiefer Cundy battled inside for six boards as Hyde finished with a 29-14 rebounding edge.

Luke Malloy picked up seven points, three steals and three assists for Valley, while Miller pulled down six boards and blocked three shots.

No. 3 Hyde 61, No. 2 Valley 47

Western D Boys Semifinals

At the Augusta Civic Center

Hyde — Gregory Kidger 8-1-17, Frederik Lasson 0-0-0, Antoine Montgomery 7-10-25, Kiefer Cundy 0-2-2, Noah Horning 2-0-5, Andrew Palermo 3-2-8, Shemar 2-0-4, Yuehan Wang 0-0-0, Yi Lin 0-0-0, Evans Kagame 0-0-0, Nolan Lowder 0-0-0, Richard Buomo 0-0-0. Totals — 22- 15-61. Valley — Cale Beane 1-0-2, Austin Cates 0-0-0, Collin Miller 8-1-17, Cody Laweryson 7-2-19, Luke Malloy 3-0-7, Dillon Beane 1-0-2, Nathan Ames 0-0-0, Raymond Bigelow 0-0- 0, Gabe Pullen 0-0-0, Brandon Thomas 0-0-0, Josh Brown 0-0-0, Totals — 20-3-47. 3-point field goals — (H) Montgomery, Horning; (V) Laweryson 3, Malloy. Records — Hyde 16-4, Valley 15-5. Note — Hyde will face No. 1 Forest Hills (20-0) on Saturday at 2:35 p.m. in the Western D Championship at the Augusta Civic Center.