Samatar Iman drives to the basket against Emmanuel Yugu (12) and Charles Lyall of Portland during the first half in Augusta on Thursday. 

AUGUSTA — Edward Little knew who Simon Chadbourne was. They’d scouted the Portland sophomore guard and knew he could hurt them from outside.

The dilemna the Red Eddies faced was what keeping a close eye on Chadbourne would cost them. Would star point guard Terion Moss find open lanes to the hoop? Would his backcourt-mate, Griffin Foley, get the open looks if they denied Chadbourne? Would senior center Charles Lyall have free reign in the paint?

Top-seeded Portland made No. 2 EL pick its poison, and during the AA North final’s two key runs, it was Chadbourne, with four 3-pointers for 12 points off the bench, who proved to be the difference in a 66-53 Bulldogs victory.

Portland (18-2) will make its fourth consecutive trip to the state championship next Saturday, where it will face the team it beat in last year’s state final, South Portland. Edward Little ends its season at 18-2.

Chadbourne made two 3-pointers in the first quarter, including a buzzer-beater to give the Bulldogs the lead, and two more late in the third quarter to help the Bulldogs open up an insurmountable 42-31 lead heading into the fourth.

“Terion and all of those other guys, (opponents) really focus on,” Chadbourne said. “When they get by people, I kind of get left open and I just have to hit my shots.”

“Against us earlier this year, he didn’t play that much,” EL coach Mike Adams said. “But I saw him twice against Deering and we saw him against Oxford Hills (in the semifinals). So we scouted him plenty of times. He’s a shooter. That’s what he can do, and he did it tonight.”

Leading 24-23 at the half, the Bulldogs scored seven straight to start the third quarter. EL got it down to five with a Wol Maiwen hoop with under three minutes left in the quarter, but Moss took it to the hoop for two, then found Chadbourne for 3-pointers sandwiched around a Jarod Norcross Plourde hoop to make it 42-31 Portland.

“We helped off of him twice. We didn’t find him once in transition. Just those little mental mistakes,” Adams said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons. If you don’t help on Moss, you’ll let him get to the rim.”

The Red Eddies pulled back within eight a couple of times early in the fourth, but a three-point play by Moss, a layup by Clay Hardy and a Foley fast-break layup after a block by Lyall inflated the margin to 51-36 with 5:52 to go.

Last December, EL beat Portland, 76-70, in Auburn in the teams’ only regular-season meeting. 

“We came out ready, and we had Clay back, too,” Chadbourne said. “He was out the first game. He helps out defensively and rebounds.”

“Last game, to be honest, we were burying 3s,” Adams said. “Even though we do do that to a certain degree, to beat them, that’s not what it’s going to take.”

“Our boys battled. They executed our game plan,” Adams added. “We defended well enough to win most games, but Portland is really, really good, and we just didn’t do some things we needed to do.”

Samatar Iman finished with a game-high 21 points, while Norcross Plourde added 12 for the Red Eddies. Foley led Portland with 14 points, while Lyall added 11 and Moss nine.

Samatar Iman of Edward Little High School passes over Pedro Fonseca of Portland during the second half in Augusta on Friday. 

Edward Little High School head coach Mike Adams talks with his team after the Red Eddies lost to Portland 66-53 on Friday. 

Terion Moss of Portland reacts after sinking a basket and getting fouled for a three point play against Edward Little High School in Augusta on Friday. 

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