PORTLAND — Lincoln Academy took eight shots in the first quarter and missed them all.
“The first quarter killed us,” Lincoln coach Ryan Ball said. “That’s where we lost the game, no question.”
The Eagles tried to recover but Oak Hill withstood the rally, winning 59-46 in the Class B South boys basketball quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
Oak Hill took a 17-3 first-quarter lead, only to see the Eagles come back and close to 26-22 at halftime, then 36-35 after three quarters.
But Lincoln never caught up as the Raiders pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Guard Evan Boston led Oak Hill with 28 points. Keyden Leeman scored 21 for Lincoln, and teammate Cody Tozier added 17.
Fourth-seeded Oak Hill (11-8) advanced to play No. 1 Yarmouth in the semifinals Thursday at the Cross Insurance Arena.
Lincoln finished at 6-13.
While Lincoln struggled in the first quarter, turning the ball over four times and shooting 3 of 6 from the foul line, the Raiders were rolling. Oak Hill shot 54 percent, made two turnovers, and outrebounded the Eagles 12-4 in the first quarter.
“The first quarter we came out and everybody was just clicking,” Oak Hill coach Tom Smith said.
Oak Hill was hampered when 6-foot-4 Marcus Bailey got into foul trouble early and often. He played only 12 minutes.
“We had the opportunity we wanted,” Ball said. “They had all kinds of foul trouble.”
But the Raiders also had other weapons, especially Boston, a 5-6 dynamo who darts down the court while able to quickly pull up from the outside. He scored nine points in the first quarter.
“We lost (Bailey) and that’s our big guy. We needed to pull it together as a team,” Boston said. “I wanted my players to step up and play as a team. Luckily I was hitting some shots.”
Some?
“He stepped up real big for us,” Smith said. “It was a moment he wanted and he took advantage of it.”
Lincoln solved Oak Hill’s 1-3-1 defense briefly in the second and third quarters. The 6-4 Tozier began to hit shots, and the 6-1 Leeman battled inside and out.
Leeman’s 3-pointer closed it to 36-35 to end the third quarter.
But Oak Hill took off in the fourth, led by Boston’s drives to the hoop. The Eagles could not keep up.
“We’ve had that problem all year — the quick guard we cannot stop,” Ball said. “His quickness … we just don’t have it.”
Darryn Bailey led Oak Hill inside with nine rebounds and seven points.
Kevin Thomas — 791-7411
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: @KevinThomasPPH
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