enlarge Joe Phelan/Blethen Maine News Service

Richmond players proudly display their championship plaque after beating Forest Hills in the Western Class D championship game.

AUGUSTA — A year after graduating all five starters, the Richmond boys' basketball team is back in the Class D state championship game.

The Bobcats pulled away from top-seeded Forest Hills in the final minute to post a 41-30 victory Saturday and earn their third Western Maine title in a row.

Second-seeded Richmond (17-2) will face Woodland for the state championship Saturday at the Bangor Auditorium. Forest Hills finished 19-2, with both losses coming to Richmond.

Depth made a difference in the outcome at both ends of the floor. The Bobcats used a combination of players against Forest Hills senior Cody Gilboe and held him to 15 points, 12 below his season average.

“We’ve got three or four big guys and 15 or 20 fouls,” Richmond Coach Phil Houdlette said. “I think the key to it was trying to make it hard for the guys to get the ball to him.”

Forest Hills held its last lead when Cory Plante hit a free throw to make it 30-29 with 3:02 remaining. Richmond sophomore Michael Christie’s driving layup gave his team the lead, then the Bobcats forced a turnover, one of 16 for the Tigers.

The Bobcats spread the floor and killed over a minute before the Tigers came out of their 1-3-1 zone. Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero switched to man-to-man after a timeout, but Richmond scored on the ensuing inbounds play, with Nick Woods connecting on a short baseline jumper.

“Somebody missed an assignment,” Amero said. “We weren’t supposed to guard the inbounds passer. They run that same play (during the regular season).”

Woods and Christie, Richmond’s two left-handed guards, put the game away from the foul line. Woods finished with 19 points and Christie added 14. The pair combined to score all Richmond’s points in the fourth quarter.

“Even though we lost our five starters and seniors from last year, we’ve been playing basketball since third grade together,” Woods said. “We were undefeated in middle school. We all know each other and how we play.”

Bruce Carver, a junior who averaged 21 points in his first two tournament games, was held scoreless. He eventually fouled out, although both he and 6-foot-5 sophomore Kyle O’Brien played well defensively against Gilboe.

“That was the main focus, to take (Carver) out of the game,” Gilboe said. “They have a deep, deep bench and a lot of good kids who can just flat-out play.”

The Tigers led most of the first half behind 11 points from Gilboe and a zone defense that limited the Bobcats to perimeter shots. Consecutive layups from Gilboe midway through the second quarter gave Forest Hills its largest lead, 17-12.

Richmond bounced back behind Eric Murrin and Christie, who drove the lane for layups. Dylan McNally’s putback restored the lead to three, but Woods closed the quarter with back-to-back layups to give the Bobcats a 20-19 lead at the break.

“We had to (ride) Nick Woods on his shoulders for a while,” Houdlette said. “We seemed to be really hesitant. We have more offensive weapons than Bruce and Nick. I don’t know if we were waiting for something to happen.”

Richmond’s tentative offense didn’t affect its defense, though. The Tigers made just two baskets in the second half, both by Plante, as the Bobcats forced 11 turnovers, including two in the final minute.

Fatigue was also a factor. With an enrollment of just 52 students, the Tigers have only eight players, and only six played.

“No disappointment,” Amero said. “We just played our hearts out and gave them a game.”

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com