LEWISTON — Lilian McCullum came through in the clutch to seal Portland’s 58-54 victory over Lewiston in a Class AA North girls basketball contest Thursday.

McCullum forced a turnover on a Lewiston inbound play underneath the Bulldogs’ basket with seven seconds left, then was fouled with three seconds left and made both free throws for the final points of the game. She finished with 12 points.

“Lily made some big free throws at the end,” Portland coach Joe Johnson said. “She’s a tough kid, she’s a competitor. You know, she wanted to guard Bailey Tardif-Mockler — she was the best player on the floor tonight for them. I was really excited to see her kind of step up and want that.”

Lewiston coach Sam Morin said he needs to have the Blue Devils (1-7) more prepared for late-game situations.

“But I know that’s a learning experience for all of us, especially for me …” Morin said. “Could have been a lot better on my end to get them in the right spot. But, you know, the girls did exactly what they needed to do. It was just not our outcome tonight.”

The Blue Devils held a 30-23 lead at halftime, led by Tardif-Mockler, who scored 18 of her 27 points and made four of her five 3-pointers in the first half.

Ella Beaudoin added 15 points for Lewiston.

“With Bailey, with Ella, those are our girls. They are definitely our shooters from outside,” Morin said.

Portland’s Baleria Yugu led all scorers with 30 points, 15 in each half. Fasika West added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

“I just wasn’t happy with how we played in the first half but, a different team showed up in (the second half),” Johnson said. “The second half, I thought we took care of the ball, at the end didn’t force anything.”