AUGUSTA — Maranacook coach Rob Schmidt wasn’t just delighted that his eighth-seeded Black Bears upset No. 1 Boothbay in Monday’s quarterfinals. The fact that his team had to battle back from a pair of double-digit deficits to knock off the Seahawks made the victory that much more satisfying.

“I’m very proud of the fact that we never quit in that game,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt could say the same about how his team navigated its season, which at one time seemed to be headed for a premature ending.

Little more than a month ago, the Black Bears were 3-10, mired in an eight-game losing streak and facing the prospect of missing out on the Western C tournament one year after reaching the regional final in their first season in Class C.

Then they finished the regular season winning three of their last four — including Heal points-enriching victories over Spruce Mountain and Gardiner — and entered the tournament with the momentum that had eluded them all season.

“We took some punches this season, and we lost some close games,” Schmidt said. “I really believe we learned from it. I think we continued to practice hard and we continued to have the effort. I’ve said from day one we’re very athletic, but we’re finally playing smarter. I think we’re playing with the confidence to receive some of those punches and not give up.”

The team that awaits Maranacook (9-11) in Friday night’s Western C second semifinal (8:30 p.m.), fourth-seeded Winthrop, took some lumps, although their 16-3 record shows they delivered their fair share of them, too.

The Ramblers were flying high for the first month of the season, winning 11 in a row out of the gate. Then back-to-back losses to Boothbay and Dirigo led coach Todd MacArthur to remind his team of its goals and to get refocused in practice.

Winthrop won four of its next five, avenged two losses to Boothbay with a win in the Mountain Valley Conference championship and then rolled over fifth-seeded Madison in the quarterfinals by 40 points.

“I’m happy for the boys,” MacArthur said. “They set goals when they first came into this program that they were going to accomplish some things and this is one notch in their belt. Hopefully, they can accomplish some more.”

Winthrop’s next accomplishment — to reach its first regional final since 2008 — requires beating a Maranacook team that likes to run as much as, if not more than, the Ramblers do. Winthrop’s formidable full-court defense will be tested by the athletic Black Bears, who will find and ride the hot hand, whether it’s senior forward Cam Brochu (21 points against Boothbay), sophomore guard Kyle Wilbur (14 points off the bench in the quarterfinal) or junior guard Kent Mohlar, a dangerous outside shooter and penetrator.

Sometimes Maranacook’s run-and-gun style can catch opponents unprepared for the frenetic pace, especially if it’s a tournament foe from another conference. But that isn’t the case with Winthrop.

“We know them well just (playing against them) through the summer and preseason or just being within a radius of 10 miles maybe,” MacArthur said.

The Ramblers and Black Bears met at the Augusta Civic Center in last year’s quarterfinals, with Maranacook pulling out a 68-52 “upset” in the No. 4 vs. 5 matchup. Winthrop had just lost one of its starters, Matt Sekerak, to a knee injury.

Schmidt said he doesn’t take much out of the teams’ previous encounters, “but I’ve seen them play enough to know how good they are,” he said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. They go a lot deeper than we do. They’re very athletic. They’ve got a lot of good basketball players.”

The Ramblers boast an all-senior starting five of Ben Allen, Dakota Carter, Taylor Morang, Anthony Owens and Sekerak. Allen (6-foot-2), Carter (6-foot-3) and Owens (6-foot-5) give them a size advantage over the Black Bears and will be key factors on the boards. Sekerak is the defensive stopper who is also capable of scoring, while Morang is the engine that makes the Ramblers go. Sophomore guard Jacob Hickey provides instant offense off the bench.

The first semifinal at 7 p.m. pits No. 2 Dirigo (17-2) against No. 3 Waynflete (16-1). The Cougars are led by Mountain Valley Conference player of the year Riley Robinson. Waynflete, the defending Western C champion, is led by junior guard Milo Belleau.

Randy Whitehouse — 621-5638

rwhitehouse@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @RAWmaterial33