PORTLAND – It wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

Twice in the regular season, Cape Elizabeth beat Wells by double figures. And this time the Warriors were without their best player, Alex Furness, gone for violating team rules.

But the second-ranked Capers were pushed to the limit Saturday by the seventh-seeded Warriors, rallying in the fourth quarter, then winning in overtime.

Cape Elizabeth hit eight foul shots in overtime to down Wells 49-44 in a Western Class B quarterfinal at the Portland Expo.

Wells led by seven after three quarters, but would only score eight points in the final 12 minutes.

“I told my guys, ‘You absolutely just played your best game of the season. And you did it on the biggest stage,’ ” said Warriors Coach Troy Brown. “So I can’t be any more proud of them.”

Cape Elizabeth (15-4) will play No. 3 York in the semifinals at 9 p.m. on Thursday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Capers Coach Jim Ray knew it would be difficult. He told his players he had coached underdogs before. But the Capers never lost confidence.

“We never questioned we could win,” said guard Theo Bowe. “Obviously it’s concerning that we were put in that position (of having to rally). But there was never any doubt we could win.”

Wells (11-8) took the lead in the second quarter, when the Capers faltered against a box-and-one defense that saw Doug McLean and Jason Chase shadow Bowe. The Warriors hadn’t done that in the regular season but, said Brown, “We had to. He’s the best player in the league.”

The Capers shot 1 of 11 in the second and trailed 22-17, getting that close with Cam Brown’s 3-pointer to end the quarter.

Then Zach Deshaies of Wells, who had a superb game with 15 points, scored eight in the third to give Wells a 36-29 lead.

Then the Capers started switching defenses, causing confusion. That allowed Cape to rally, taking the lead with 4:52 left on a 3-pointer by Bowe, who scored 19 points. A layup by Joe Doane after a steal gave Cape a 41-38 lead in the final minute.

Wells’ chances came down to one shot that went from impossible to improbable to incredible. Paul McDonough, closely guarded by two Capers, leaned in to hit a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left, forcing overtime.

In overtime, the Capers forced three turnovers, a couple on steals by Doane.

“I definitely think it was our defense,” said Doane. “We got a couple of stops and a couple of key rebounds. I think our offense, we need to improve but our defense did save us.” 

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com