AUGUSTA – The Boothbay boys basketball kept going inside, and eventually, Madison wore down.

John Hepburn scored 20 points to lead the Seahawks, all but a pair of free throws coming from the low post, to lead top-seeded Boothbay to the 55-43 win over the No. 4 Bulldogs in the Western Class C semifinals.

“They outrebounded us,” Madison coach Mike Packard said. “They did a great job. They wore us down on the boards.”

Boothbay, now 19-1, will take on No.2 Waynflete (17-1) in the regional championship game on Saturday night. Madison ends the season at 12-8.

Boothbay and Madison played once in the regular season, with the Seahawks taking a 55-51 win.

With the score tied at 35-35 with  two and a half minutes left in the third quarter, the Seahawks took the lead for good on an Anthony DiMauro basket. Evan Hepburn's bucket with 4:26 left in the game pushed Boothbay's lead to 50-39.

John Hepburn scored six of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Seahawks pull away. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and had five steals. Anthony DiMauro scored 10 points for the Seahawks.

“I was surprised (Hepburn) had 20. It's kind of a quiet 20. You look up, and there it is,” Packard said.

Madison went cold from the field in the fourth quarter, and didn't make a shot in the final quarter until Steven Lawrence (11 points) scored on an offensive put back with 18 seconds to play.

Madison led 14-12 after one quarter, and the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 25-18 on a 3-pointer by Raymond Miller midway through the second quarter. 

“Playing against a zone, we were hoping to get good perimeter shots,” Packard said. “We have some guys who can shoot the ball.”

Madison lived and died by the 3-pointer in the first half, making four. But when the Bulldogs went cold, Boothbay rallied. Boothbay closed the first half with an 8-0 run to retake the lead, 26-25, at the half. A Stephen Barter free throw with 27.5 seconds left gave the Seahawks the lead.

Boothbay took an early 8-2 lead, with all eight points coming off of Madison turnovers, before the Bulldogs rallied. Dylan Price scored seven of his nine points in the first quarter for Madison.


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