AUGUSTA — Fisher Tewksbury can score, rebound, scoop up loose balls and dish them out to an open teammate in a flash. Harry Louis is a sharpshooter who can effortlessly fling a 3-pointer.
Oh, by the way, they’re only eighth-graders.
Tewksbury scored 24 points and Louis added 11 as second-seeded Valley used an 18-0 third-quarter run to pull away from No. 6 Pine Tree Academy, 62-42, in a Class D South boys basketball semifinal Wednesday morning at the Civic Center.
Valley (12-4) will face top-seeded Forest Hills in the regional title game Saturday afternoon at the Civic Center. The Tigers buried Greenville 61-41 in the other semifinal Wednesday.
PTA finished 8-12.
Jared Ricker scored 15 points and pulled down some crucial rebounds for the Cavaliers, while Silas Yeaton led PTA with 15 points.
Valley’s youthful starting five features a junior, two sophomores and two eighth-graders, and yet the Cavaliers are one win from a state final. How does coach Mike Staples handle such a bounty?
“It’s kind of a rare opportunity. We’re just blessed, I guess,” he said with a laugh. “We’re just blessed with these young kids that are working hard and getting better all the time. We’re excited about the future.
“Fisher’s an incredible athlete, and a great kid on top of that, and so is Harry. I can’t say enough about either one of them. They played their hearts out. Fisher plays his heart out, and he crashes the boards.”
Tewksbury was in the Civic Center stands in 2016 when he saw Valley grab a Gold Ball as Class D state champion. Now he’s on the Civic Center floor against athletes with far more age and experience while looking to return the Cavaliers to the promised land. He said he has handled the transition well.
Valley eighth-grader Fisher Tewksbury has a shot blocked by Pine Tree Academy defender Ben Ndamukunda during a Class D South boys basketball semifinal game Wednesday morning at the Augusta Civic Center. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
“I was scared at first, but once I got into it, I got more relaxed,” said the 5-foot-10 Tewksbury, who frequently ran the point and was among the Cavaliers’ leading rebounders Wednesday.
Valley’s youngsters came through in the third quarter, when PTA scored seven straight points, five from Alden Thacker (13 points), to cut a 32-19 deficit to 32-26.
After Staples called a timeout, Valley responded with the 18-0 run to put the game away. Tewksbury scored six points and Louis five, including one of three 3-pointers on the day, during the rally.
“We were just getting a little lazy and tired,” Staples said. “There was bad ball movement, we weren’t spacing good. So we just needed to find some energy and find a way to get the job done.”
Added Tewksbury: “That’s him. He gives us the energy, we go out and perform. We come back into games and we just get those fast breaks and loose balls and move the ball and get open looks.”
Valley eighth-grader Fisher Tewksbury goes up for a shot between Pine Tree Academy defenders Ben Ndamukunda, left, and Senis Belandria during a Class D South boys basketball semifinal game Wednesday morning at the Augusta Civic Center. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
Valley has been a work in progress. Ricker, a 6-2 sophomore, hasn’t played basketball in a couple years. After a tough start, his improvement at the hoop and on the boards has been remarkable, Staples said. Classmate and fellow starter Ryon West, who added four points, didn’t join the team until last last season.
“Ricker came in really rough, but we worked with him, we worked with him, and he’s just progressively gotten better and better and better,” Staples said. “Ryan’s pretty much the same story. We could see right off he was a tough, hard-nosed kid who fought for everything. He’s getting better every practice.”
Valley defeated Rangeley 62-27 in the quarterfinals Monday, while PTA topped Islesboro 58-47.
Forest Hills swept the season series with Valley, winning 87-40 on Dec. 21 and 83-34 on Jan. 4.
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