LEWISTON — Four points is all Lewiston scored in the fourth quarter.

But they were four clutch points and enough for the Blue Devils to survive a big rally by Edward Little and win Thursday’s boys basketball rivalry game 40-36.

“Our wins have kind of been that way, where we’ve kind of gotten a quick start and we’ve kind of, just, held on,” Lewiston coach Elgin Physic said. “… We were able to come up with a couple of key plays at the end. We were on the last six out of eight, that’s kind of how we’ve been doing it.”

The Red Eddies (5-13) fought back from a 34-17 third-quarter deficit with a 19-2 run, tying the game at 36-36 on a putback by Diing Maiwen with 1:15 left in the game.

Mike Klick scored in the post to regain the lead for Lewiston (7-11) with 35 seconds remaining.

“That was the biggest bucket of the year to me, honestly,” teammate Caden Boone said. “When he got that bucket, I was just like — I don’t know, the whole gym was loud, and I was like, it’s my turn.”

Edward Little, trailing by two points, set up a play in an attempt to tie the game or take the lead, but Boone stole the ball with only a few seconds remaining, all but sealing the victory.

“My goal was to kind of do like a run and jump on defense, that’s what I’m best at,” Boone said. “And then, I got up and he kind of fumbled the ball a little bit, it was really right in front of me. I saw nobody behind me, nobody in front of me, so I just went up for it.”

He then provided an exclamation point by racing down the court and scoring a basket as time expired.

“That was probably, like, the best feeling,” Boone said. “Senior night, I just finished a game like that. It was a great feeling.

“Then my mom came on the court right after and hugged me. That was the best feeling ever.”

Klick and Boone are two of the three seniors on the Blue Devils’ roster.

“Our seniors made good plays at the end,” Physic said. “I mean, these are guys — like, Mike’s been with us for three years. Caden’s been with us the last two years. They just came up big. They’re both good defensive guys.

“So it was just good. You know, we just hung on and played good, played hard.”

The victory likely bumps Lewiston from fifth to fourth place in the Class AA North Heal point standings, which means they’ll host Oxford Hills (7-11) in the quarterfinals rather than travel to face the Vikings.

Abdirahman Dakane’s long-range shooting was the catalyst for the Blue Devils in building the big lead. The junior, who finished with a game-high 15 points, drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the third quarter.

“Our point guard, Abdirahman, he was shooting 3s, and he gets to the bucket,” Boone said. “So he really helps us run the offense, and then our role guys, off that, just making cuts.”

Ball and player movement resulted in good shots, Physic said. And those were supported by a disruptive defense on the other end of the court.

“We were just getting good looks. We actually were making shots,” he said. “I thought our pressure bothered them. We tried to keep them back and forth (by) playing different defenses.”

Dakane’s two third-quarter treys were the first six points of the second half, which turned a 28-17 halftime advantage into a 34-17 lead.

Lonnie Thomas later added another basket in the third, but those were the Blue Devils’ final points until Klick scored.

Aided by treys from Eli St. Laurent and Marshal Adams, the Red Eddies cut Lewiston’s lead to single digits, 36-27, by the end of the third period.

TJ Kramarz and Maiwen combined to score the first nine points of the fourth quarter. Midway through the period, Maiwen stole the ball in Lewiston’s back court and then dunked the ball to make it 36-31.

Physic, who spent four years as an Edward Little assistant under longtime head coach Mike Adams, wasn’t stunned to see the Red Eddies fight their way back into the game.

“They’re a solid team, well-coached — obviously, I know, because I’ve been with Adams for four years,” Physic said. “So I knew it was going to be — I knew they were going to not just give up.”

It also wasn’t stunning because it isn’t the first time it has happened this season. In the teams’ first meeting, on Jan. 6, Edward Little overcame a large deficit in the second half and defeated the Blue Devils 50-48.

“Last time, we ended up blowing a 16-point lead,” Boone said. “We know EL has a good team, they’re going to fight back, but as long as we keep on fighting with them and keep that little lead right there, then we’re going to be good.”

Lewiston maintained the lead until Maiwen’s putback with 75 seconds remaining evened the score at 36-36.

“I wouldn’t say I was scared, but the pressure, the pressure came right there. The pressure definitely came a little heavier right there,” Boone said. “But then I was like, ‘If we fold now, then they’re going to win.’

“So we decided to keep our heads high and keep on, keep on chipping away, kind of.”

Then came Klick’s go-ahead basket, and then Boone’s steal and score.

Now comes the postseason. Hosting a game seemed unlikely when the Blue Devils lost eight of their first nine games. They had to replace most of last year’s scoring, and most of last year’s minutes, since only Boone and Klick saw significant playing time.

Many players have grown into their roles. With that has come wins, and with wins has come confidence.

“I think we’re going to be the most dangerous team in the postseason,” Boone said. “A lot of people are going to disagree, but I think because we’re a team that’s lower, people are going to — they’re not going to see us coming, and then we’re just going to hit them like that.

“I think we’re going to be dangerous and go pretty far.”

The Blue Devils won both meetings with Oxford Hills this season, 53-41 in Paris on Jan. 19 and 56-51 on Tuesday in Lewiston.

Thomas finished Thursday’s game with nine points for Lewiston, while Boone scored six and Klick and Jeffery Randall contributed four apiece.

Maiwen and St. Laurent each scored 13 to lead Edward Little.

The Red Eddies, as the sixth seed, are poised to face third-seeded Portland (14-4) in the AA North quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs beat Edward Little 53-49 in Auburn on Dec. 15 and 79-48 in Portland on Jan. 17.

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