The unbeaten Lisbon High School Unified basketball team trailed at the half Thursday in a South regional semifinal against Kennebunk, the first time this season the Greyhounds failed to hold a lead at the break.

“It felt like we were going to lose, but then we came back,” said Lisbon’s Brock Vachon. “We just tried to focus on winning.”

Lisbon took the lead right back in the third quarter and settled down in the second half. The Greyhounds expanded the lead and toppled the Rams, 45-33.

Lisbon last loss was in the state championship game last year. With the win, the Greyhounds advances to a second consecutive regional final. They will host Deering/Portland on Tuesday.

“They have not felt anything but having the lead this year,” Lisbon student coach Jonah Sautter said. “That’s the first time they’ve been down at all. At halftime, they were all mad, but I told them that we couldn’t be mad and that we had to keep playing.”

Lisbon settled in and shook off a tough Kennebunk club. The Greyhounds used an 8-0 run in the third, and then an 8-3 surge in the fourth to put the game away. It was an intense and physical game from the start.

“It was a lot harder than the other games that we’ve played,” Lisbon’s Amanda Mason said.

Mason led the Greyhounds (11-0) with 10 points, including six in the second half. Jake Patenaude and Wesley Lucas each had six. Vachon had five, including a crucial 3 in the third quarter. Dawson Martel and Michael Farrington each added four points.

Fourth-ranked Kennebunk (9-2) got 10 from Evan Warren and nine from Joshua LaRoche. Cole Hansen added four points, including a basket midway through the fourth quarter that earned a standing ovation from the crowd after many missed attempts. He then hit a shot at the buzzer to end Kennebunk’s season on a high note. The Rams’ only previous loss was to Deering/Portland, 33-32.

While Lisbon’s offense took time to settle in and hit shots, the Greyhounds defense was superb. Playing with an intensity that had the bench and Lisbon crowd roaring with excitement on almost every play, the Greyounds made it tough for the Rams to score. Most of Kennebunk’s shots came from the outside. 

“I told our athletes to stay in the paint because we were getting tired because we were chasing them around,” said Sautter, who is a student coach along with sister Bree, and coaches Teri Tlumac and Jody Benson. “If we stay in the paint and they shoot from the outside, we’ll let them. If they make those, we’ll go from there.”

Lisbon set up a number of scoring chances early. The rebounding and passing of Tyler Halls helped the Greyhounds get good looks that just didn’t fall.

It was a Warren basket that put Kennebunk ahead 17-16 at the half. Lisbon then opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run. Patenaude scored and then Lucas finished off a pass from Ryley Austin. After Connor Archibald scored for the Rams to make it 20-19, Vachon drilled a 3.

“I hadn’t been really shooting that good,” Vachon said. “I just shot it to see what happens and it ended up going in.”

Hannah Martel converted an Austin Fournier rebound and pass. That had the lead up to 25-19. Kennebunk answered with five points from LaRoche, but Lisbon scored eight straight to open the lead. 

“We were a little nervous and tensed up,” Mason said. “(In the second half) we got a little more relaxed.”

Mason hit a jumper and Vachon sank two free throws. Mason finished off an Austin pass and Farrington scored to make it 33-24.

“I talked to them before the game and said, ‘Let’s not rush shots because if we rush shots, we’ll just have turnover after turnover and that leads to fast break baskets,'” Sautter said. “So I told them to take their time and take good shots. I said, ‘You’ll end up scoring many more points.'”

After ending the third up 35-26, Lisbon finished off the game with a strong final quarter. Mason and Dawson Martel scored, but Kennebunk got a 3 from Michael Maloney with 3:01 left to make it 39-31. Patendaude scored twice and a Lucas basket made it 45-31.

“We knew we were going to have a run (this season),” Halls said. “We lost in the state championship game last year. That’s where we want to go. We’re taking it game-by-game. We definitely want to get to the states, and we just have to win one more.”

Kennebunk built an 11-8 lead in the first quarter. A 3 from Isaac Zahares and a drive by Warren made it 11-6. Lisbon got a basket by Fourner on a pass from  Halls.

The teams traded the lead in the second quarter. Lisbon got baskets by Mason and Austin to make it 16-13, but Kennebunk finished the half with free throws by Thomas Wildes and a leaner by Warren.

kmills@sunjournal.com