Forest Hills boys basketball coach Anthony Amero says he expects A.R. Gould to present a few challenges when the teams meet Wednesday morning in a Western D semifinal game.

He also knows his top-seeded Tigers aren’t exactly an easy team to play, either.

“We’ll have trouble in a couple areas, but they could, too,” Amero said.

The regional semifinals get under way at the Civic Center when No. 2 Hyde (15-3) meets No. 3 Valley (16-3) at 10 a.m. Forest Hills (17-2) tips off against No. 4 Gould (12-7) at 11:30 a.m.

The Tigers and Bears did not meet in the regular season.

“They seem pretty quick and very athletic,” Amero said. “They seem like they could be tough to matchup with.”

Senior captain forward Zacharia Mohamed and sophomore guard Tim Robertson lead A.R. Gould. The two combined to score 48 of the team’s 64 points in a quarterfinal win over North Haven.

“They seem like a two-headed monster,” Amero added. “Those guys had an outstanding game. We’ll have to be ready.”

While A.R. Gould may be quicker, Forest Hills will hold a height advantage.

Center Evan Worster and forward Tanner Daigle are listed at 6-foot-3. Ryan Petrin (6-2) and Derick Ouellette (6-1) also provide mismatch problems.

Worster scored 18 points in a quarterfinal win over Richmond. He averaged 19.1 points a game in the regular season.

“(Gould) does not have a lot of height,” Amero said.

“We go in a little bit bigger and, hopefully, we can take advantage.”

Valley and Hyde are no strangers to each other. The teams split two regular season games. Both games were decided by six points or less.

“We played them twice and both times it came right down to the end,” Hyde coach Peter Rowe said.
“They came right down to the final plays. We expect another challenge.”

The Cavaliers will look toward their core of experienced players to get them into the regional final.
Carrington Miller averages 21 points a game to lead the team in scoring. Josh West averages 15.1 points while Dylan Belanger and Seth Malloy contribute as well.

“You’ll know if things are going good if offensively we are attacking the basket,” Valley coach Wade Morrill said. “Things will be going good if we are getting layups in transition and hitting a few perimeter shots to keep the middle open for us. Hyde is very athletic. They have some size, too. They can hit that extra gear, too.”

Added Rowe: “Miller is one of the most talented players in Class D. He poses problems for any team.”
Warsame Mohamed, a 6-foot-5 forward, and junior guard Wilson MacMillan lead the Phoenix. Mohamed averages about 15 points and 10 rebounds a game.

“In terms of sheer athleticism we’re one of the strongest teams,” Rowe said. “There are not a lot of teams that can match up with our quickness and speed. But tournament play at the Augusta Civic Center is different. It all comes down to how composed you can be. We hope to get out and force some turnovers with our pressure defense.”

Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com