BIDDEFORD — To steal a phrase from the great Yogi Berra, it’s deja vu all over again for the Biddeford boys basketball team.

Much like last winter, the Tigers are making a late push to grab one of the final spots for the Western Class A playoffs.

The surge continued on Wednesday night, as Biddeford beat Massabesic 63-44.

The win improves the Tigers record to 5-7 on the season, and Biddeford has won four of its last five contests. The Tigers only loss in that span is to Cheverus, the defending state champions.

A year ago, the Tigers made the same type of run, before just missing out on the playoffs, but finishing with a 10-8 record.

Biddeford head coach Mike Fecteau noted his team is more well-rounded this season for the playoff run.

“We’ve got a starting unit,” Fecteau said. “And we’ve got a good set of role players, so that everyone knows their role now. I think we’re hitting shots. I think we were playing good at the beginning of the season, but we just weren’t hitting our shots. We’d get wide open looks, but shots weren’t falling. Now my guys are starting to shoot well, [Chance] Baldino, [Mike] Lachance, [Robert] Cote, they’re my 3-point threats. All of those guys can shoot the three, and now we’ve got [Nate] McKeown, [Ronnie] Dube, [Mike] Vadnais, pounding the inside.”

The road to the playoffs in the final six games will be tough. All but two games will be played against teams that will be in the playoffs or playoff contenders, including two games against longtime enemy Thornton Academy. The good news for the Tigers is that more wins in those four games mean more Heal Points, which Biddeford, ranked 11th in the Western Class A standings, needs.

On the flip side, it’s been a tough season for the Mustangs, who dropped to 0-12 with the loss, though there have been bright spots. Massabesic guards Chris Gahm and Ryan Dodge have been impressive all season, as both have averaged 12 points per game. Wednesday night proved to be no different, as Gahm led the Mustangs with a game-high 16 points, while Dodge scored seven points.

“It certainly hasn’t been dismal all the way around,” Massabesic head coach Matt Ouellette said. “It’s really tough, because I would like to be mad at them. But they work so hard physically, that I can’t be. They give me everything that I ask, and then some, every single day, and I can’t be made at that.”

Biddeford showcased its usual offensive repertoire on Wednesday nigt, but with a twist. For most of the contest, Biddeford took advantage of its outside shooting, as guard Robert Cote scored a team-high 13 points, and fellow guard Chance Baldino chipped in with 10 points. But the Tigers, who have long suffered from lack of size, collected points in the post from forward Nate McKeown, who finished with nine points.

Fecteau said post play was a key coming into the game against Massabesic.

“That’s what kind of hurt us [in the Tuesday night loss to Cheverus], we didn’t get any scoring from those guys,” Fecteau said. “For us, we can’t just rely on the outside shooting, I need some scoring from the inside people, too. We stressed that tonight, and did a good job of getting the ball inside.”

For Cote, getting other players in the mix has also been a key for the Tigers.

“I think the key is getting other guys involved,” Cote said. “Once we spread the floor, it’s more open shots, other guys shooting and scoring and rebounding. Rebounding is a big key this year. When we rebound well, we fast break, get the ball up and shoot more.”

Both teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter, and Massabesic kept Biddeford’s lead to 12-8 at the end of the quarter, which Ouellette considered to be the best quarter the Mustangs have had yet this season.

“That’s the best start that we’ve had,” Ouellette said. “Typically, we get down 10 or 12 in the first quarter, hang with them through three [quarters] and lose by 10 or 12. But for the first time, we were in it after the first, which was our goal, to be in it after the first. Then we had a spurt where we weren’t so good. Then we had some spurts where we were pretty good, and some spurts where we weren’t so good. So when we put together four quarters, we’re going to be alright.”

But the Tigers found its shooting touch in the second quarter, outscoring Massabesic 21-14, and went to the locker room at halftime with a 33-22 lead. Cote, who leads all of the Tigers in scoring with an average of 14 points per game, scored all of his 13 points in the first half.

Cote credits constant shooting for his success this season.

“Lot of shots in the offseason,” Cote said. “Outside all the time, as many shots as I can, that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing.”

Biddeford lengthened the lead in the third quarter, mostly off layups from Baldino, Lachance and Patrick Wilson. Massabesic outscored Biddeford 12-10 in the fourth quarter, but too much damage had been done, and the Tigers sealed the game.

Massabesic will look forward to possibly picking up its first win of the season Friday, when the Mustangs host Kennebunk. The Rams are a team that is also struggling, entering the contest with a 2-10 record.

The Tigers get to enjoy the win for a day before traveling to South Berwick on Friday for a game against playoff-bound Marshwood.

“Our main goal is Marshwood,” Fecteau said,” Because I think they’re seventh or eighth in the standings. That’s one of our goals, to beat a team above us, so it’ll be battle because Marshwood is good. We played Cheverus [Tuesday] night, they’re the top team. Massabesic is still going to scrap, even though they’re the bottom team. No one is going to give us a win.”

But the Tigers are also looking forward to its two-game stretch with Thornton Academy.

“We’ve got two games versus TA, hopefully we can beat them this year,” Cote said. “Haven’t had too much luck in the couple past years. This year I think we have a shot, as long as we play as good as we are now.”

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535 ext. 318.