PARIS — Coach Joe Oufiero said that Tuesday’s game was a microcosm of the Oxford Hills boys basketball teams season.

The Vikings get in close games then put themselves in predicaments.

“We have to be competitive in all four quarters, have no lulls, can’t take any team for granted, and you can’t think anybody’s better than us,” Oufiero said.

After a strong start, Oxford Hills needed more than four quarters to beat Lewiston 66-62 in overtime Tuesday.

The Vikings (6-5) hit four 3s in the first half to help build a 38-28 halftime lead that grew to 46-28 early in the third quarter, but they made only two treys in the second half and overtime. They also missed 13 free throws after halftime. To hold on, they needed to score in the paint and make defensive stops.

“Yeah, when those 3s are not hitting, we’ve got a good big man and good finishers, and our free throws weren’t falling tonight, but when we can make those free throws, maybe it’s not as close a game,” Oxford Hills senior Brady Delamater, who had a team-high 13 points, said. “And our defense really stepped up tonight and kept us in that game. They could have taken that game away from us (but) our defense was really resilient.”

As Oxford Hills’ lead grew, Lewiston coach Elgin Physic’s message to his players was simple.

“We are in a hostile environment, just keep fighting,” Physic said.

The Blue Devils (5-6) went on a 19-4 run to close out the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 50-45. The highlight of the run was Kewito Castigo’s running 3-pointer at the end of the period.

“We took our lead, we kind of got comfortable, we relaxed ourselves, and we lost our intensity. They took advantage of that,” Oxford Hills’ Carter Holbrook, who scored 11 points, said.

Holbrook said the Vikings ramped up their intensity in the fourth. Oxford Hills focused on feeding the ball to Brayden Murch in the paint, and he scored four of the Vikings’ seven points in the quarter.

The Blue Devils had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation after Jeffrey Randall grabbed an offensive rebound and called a timeout with two seconds remaining and the game tied 57-57. Lewiston set up a play for Abdirahman Dakane, who scored a game-high 21 points, but his corner 3-point attempt bounced off the iron.

“Down the stretch, we shared the basketball, made plays when we needed to,” Oxford Hills coach Joe Oufiero said. “I thought we defended (well) the last 15 seconds of the fourth quarter and then the last minute of overtime. I thought the kids really dug in.”

In overtime, some miscommunication by the Blue Devils led to key turnovers. Murch, who finished with 12 points, scored five of Oxford Hills’ nine points in the extra period.

The Vikings are currently fifth in the Class AA North Heal point standings, one spot behind Lewiston, with seven games remaining.

“We’ve got to go out, play good basketball down the stretch and hope that we win some games that people don’t think we should and give us a chance to host a playoff game,” Oufiero said. “That would be a huge accomplishment for our group, and that’s what we’re shooting for.”

Tuesday’s setback was yet another close contest for the Blue Devils, who lost to Messalonskee at the buzzer on Saturday and dropped a one-point game to Greely on Dec. 27. They also have a two-point wins over Freeport and Portland.

Lewiston hosts rival Edward Little (6-4) next Tuesday then plays five of its final six games on the road.

“Yeah, we’re just going to be on the road,” Physic said. “We just got (to deal with) a crowd. We just got to keep fighting for 32 minutes.”

The Vikings, meanwhile, begin perhaps their toughest stretch of the season Saturday at home against AA South-leading South Portland (8-2). Then they play at Cheverus (8-1) on Jan. 17 and host defending state champion Windham (8-1) on Jan. 21.