AUGUSTA – Forest Hills sophomore Evan Worster didn’t expect to take a winning shot in the Western Class D quarterfinal Saturday against Rangeley.

But when he got the call, he was ready.

After two free throws by Alex Morton gave Rangeley a one-point lead, Worster took the inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court and penetrated the lane, making an 8-foot jumper with 4.2 seconds left.

The basket lifted top-ranked Forest Hills to a 54-51 victory against eighth-seeded Rangeley at the Augusta Civic Center.

Rangeley (10-9) had two chances to tie or take the lead, sandwiched around two free throws by Dylan McNally of Forest Hills (14-5). But both chances failed.

The Tigers will play fifth-seeded Vinalhaven (10-6) in a semifinal Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center.

Worster practiced the last-second scenario this week in Jackman.

“He hit the free throw and my teammate Dylan (McNally) said, ‘Evan, get it and go,’ because I was feeling it in the second half. We did have a drill similar to that and it was pretty much the same outcome. That’s my shot.”

Worster and McNally each finished with 21 points.

McNally made his first eight shots, all from the low post, to stake the Tigers to a 36-26 halftime lead.

“I just worked hard, really,” McNally said. “They double- teamed me a couple of times, I just found a way to break it. I think they started keying on me a little more in the second half, which opened up Worster to start playing his game.”

The Lakers enjoyed a height advantage with the 6-foot-4 Zeke Hall and 6-3 George Seaman, and they began to use it in the second half. Morton, who finished with a team-high 17 points, also came on strong.

“We talked at halftime about getting back in the paint,” Rangeley Coach Matt Clark said. “I told the kids not to settle for the outside shot. The last part of the first half we were just shooting up shots because we were down.”

When Morton hit a pair of free throws with 5:47 remaining, the momentum had swung to the Lakers. Michael Turner, an eighth-grader who starts for Forest Hills, responded with two big shots to help the Tigers maintain the lead.

“It just seemed like he was open all day,” Forest Hills Coach Anthony Amero said. “He’s an active kid and he works well out of the offense. He didn’t have a lot of turnovers for a kid being that young, being 13 and in here for the first time. He’s fearless.”