The Vikings won their first playoff game Monday with a 42-35 win over Poland. Oxford Hills advances to Tuesday’s quarterfinal game at Lisbon at 4 p.m.

“To be honest, we didn’t want tomorrow off,” Oxford Hills senior Damita Nash-Cote said. “It’s been pretty awesome to win this season.”

The Vikings lost in the preliminary game last year in the tournament but rallied from behind to beat the Knights, a team that edged Oxford Hills 32-29 earlier this season.

“This was the best basketball we’ve played all year,” said Oxford Hills coach Jennifer Dionne, who was a standout varsity basketball player at Poland. “They knew what they needed to do. They did really well.”

Zach Gray led the eighth-seeded Vikings (4-5) with 14 points. Peter Mahoney had eight, while Nash-Cote and Brandon Robare each had six. Trevor Larrabee and Cody Russell each chipped in four. Oxford Hills had five different athletes, and one partner,  score, and all of them scored in the second half as the Vikings took the lead and held off Poland in the final quarter.

“We really do work well together,” Nash-Cote said. “We try our best to move around as much as possible. We try not to stand around all the time because that doesn’t do any good. We try to pass it to each other as much as possible. Whoever is wide open, we pass it to them.”

Ninth-ranked Poland (3-5) got 11 from Aleck Burnell and six from Tate Ray. Ashlie Potratz and Devin Yeaton each had four for the Knights, while Kyle Radziszewski and David Ellington each had three. Austin Wing and Justin Dumas each chipped in with two.

“This is a very good team,” Poland coach Danielle Hunt of Oxford Hills said. “I like playing them. They’re a very good match for us. It’s been really fun.”

Poland, which lost in the quarterfinals last winter,  was up by as many as seven in the first half, but the Vikings started to build some momentum late in the second quarter. Gray had a pair of baskets that closed the lead to 21-18 before a basket by Ellington made it 23-18 at the half.

“They really wanted to win,” Dionne said. “I think that was part of it, but they did a really nice job of moving and knowing who they needed to guard.”

Oxford Hills opened the second half with eight straight points to take the lead. Gray, who was always hustling, had a pair of drives, and Robare and Nash-Cote each scored to make it 26-23.

After a jumper by Ray and a free throw by Radziszewski tied it, the Vikings finished the third with six straight points for a 32-26 lead. Russell scored on a rebound. Gray scored on a fast break and Mahoney scored in the post to extend the lead.

“They have a very well-balanced team,” said Hunt, who played for McAuley in high school. “It was very hard to match up with them.”

The Vikings opened the fourth with a fast break hoop from Robare. After a 3 from Radziszewski cut the lead to 34-29 with 6:20 left, the Vikings answered with a Nash-Cote basket, catching Poland attempting to press. After a Burnell basket, the Vikings got a drive from Gray to preserve the lead. Poland got a score from Dumas, who played for Oxford Hills last year, with 3:08 left that made it 38-33. The Vikings got a pair of short jumpers from Larrabee to bump the lead to 42-33 before a late Poland basket.

“We have the same partners back,” said Dionne, who had much of last year’s club return, with a few newcomers. “It’s a little different dynamic. It’s a little bit younger team. We haven’t had a lot of practices and had a lot of games back-to-back, but they’ve done well with what we have.”

In the second half, Poland had only four different players score and one of them, Radziszewski, was a partner. The Knights just couldn’t match the balance and teamwork of the Vikings.

“In this arena, it was sort of a hit or miss day,” Hunt said. “We’ve had days where our kids just can’t miss and we’ve had days where we can’t make a shot. So it can be hit or miss depending on the combinations we have out there.”

Lisbon 57, Leavitt 29

LISBON — Top-seeded Lisbon returned to the South Unified Basketball quarterfinals with a 57-29 win over Leavitt in prelim action Monday.

The Greyhounds (9-0) host Oxford Hills Tuesday at 4 p.m. Lisbon beat the Vikings last Thursday 37-20 in the regular season finale.

Lisbon, which lost to Hampden in the state finals last year, was led by Jake Patenaude with 14 points while Michael Farrington chipped in 12. Amanda Mason added 8 for the Greyhounds. Brock Vachon put an exclamation point in the victory with a 3 in the four quarter.

Leavitt (0-8) got 10 points from Mark Founier. Amber Knight added six points, while Caleb Bays drilled a 3 for the Hornets in the third.

kmills@sunjourna.com

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