PORTLAND — They upset Bangor. They stunned Lawrence. They shocked Cony.

But Monday night, Oxford Hills could only put a scare into the Deering Rams.

Deering opened the lead in the first quarter and held off the Vikings’ comeback hopes in a 55-43 Class A state championship win at the Cumberland County Civic Center. It was the second state title for Deering this decade, who won in 2004.

“This team is a great team,” said Oxford Hills coach Nate Pelletier. “Obviously, they’re the best team in the state. You don’t want to get into a hole against this team.

“Even though we were down, I thought we could battle back. It had nothing to do with their effort. They worked their butts off the whole game just like I asked.”

The Vikings (15-7) were going for their first state championship but had to overcome a quick, athletic and determined Deering club. Like they did they against Cony in the Eastern final, the Vikings fell behind early. Oxford Hills had seven turnovers in the first quarter and 11 in the first half. The Vikings shot just 5-for-15 in the opening half and went over three minutes at one point without a basket.

“The atmosphere just kind of shocked us a little bit,” said Oxford Hills senior guard Kari Pelletier. “We got careless with the basketball.”

Despite the deficit, the Vikings made another late charge and outplayed the Rams for much of the second half, but Deering held off another Oxford Hills comeback.

“We definitely thought we could comeback if we played hard,” said Kari Pelletier.

Freshman Kayla Burchill led the Rams with 14 points, 10 coming in the second half. Diana Manduca and Nicole Garland each added 11.

“She could potentially lead us in scoring every night,” said Deering coach Mike D’Andrea of Burchill. “Kayla will be the first one to give credit to her teammates because they’re the one’s that will get her the ball. I was happy for Kayla because she didn’t have a great Western Maine final. I think she’ll enjoy tonight very much.”

The Vikings got 15 from Pelletier and nine from Megan Joyce.

Deering finished the first quarter with an 11-1 run and shot 7-for-12 to start the game. Manduca put an exclamation point on the surge with a jumper off an inbounds pass and a 3-pointer, on which she was hit after the shot and turned into a four-point play and 20-8 lead.

“I knew that time was running down,” said Manduca, the Western A tournament’s most outstanding player. “I drove, and I saw daylight. I just threw it up there. I got hit, and I was lucky to make it.”

Deering made it eight straight when Stefanie Saavedra scored off a steal to open the second. The Vikings got a 3-pointer by Pelletier to make it 22-11, but the Rams scored seven straight to build the largest lead of the half. Garland scored in the paint and followed that with a 3-pointer. Manduca added a jumper for a 29-11 lead with 3:15 left.

“When you come out in the first, it’s a state game,” said Manduca. “People have nerves going. We came out really strong and building a lead helped us because all during the playoffs, we’ve had a lead. It helped us maintain our focus.”

The Vikings went 3:45 without a field goal and Pelletier picked up her third foul midway through the second quarter. The Vikings rallied with six straight to get within 12. After a Kyla Martin basket, Teira Durgin hit a jumper and sank two free throws to cut the lead to 29-12.

Oxford Hills wasn’t done yet though and began to show signs of another second half comeback. The Vikings limited the Rams to just six shots from the floor in the third and used six straight points to cut the lead to eight. After a 3-pointer by Ramonas made it 33-19, the Vikings got a jumper and two free throws from Joyce. When Durgin put back a rebound with 3:26 left, the Vikings were down just 33-25. Oxford Hills had a pair of possessions with the chance to get closer but missed. Deering finished the quarter with a 7-1 run to open the lead up again.

“I give Oxford Hills all the credit in the world,” said D’Andrea. “They forced the turnovers. They forced the comfort level to change. They fought back and competed very well.”

After Durgin’s basket, Manduca fed Kayla Burchill inside for a key basket with 2:19 left. After Ramonas and Pelletier traded free throws, Maria Apon scored and Manduca hit a free throw for a 40-28 lead.

“When you cut it to eight, you’re all aggressive, and Deering was able to go over the top and smother that eight-point lead all of a sudden,” said Nate Pelletier. “You start fouling and they make foul shots. We came down and hit a couple of shots, but if you’re not scoring, you’re not going to comeback.”

The relentless Vikings kept charging and got within nine with 2:56 left. After free throws by Pelletier, Durgin hit a foul shot and scored off a steal to make it 47-38. Deering answered from the free-throw line with shots by Garland and Burchill in the final minutes. Burchill also had some key rebounds to preserve possession.

“When they pressed us some of us got a little shaky and we had some turnovers,” said Manduca. “We have so many good players and so many threats that we can control it.”