AUGUSTA – The Richmond boys’ basketball team couldn’t have dreamed of a better start.

The third-ranked Bobcats scored the first 22 points and held second-seeded Greenville without a point in the first quarter, winning 63-47 in a Western Class D semifinal Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center.

“After coming out so sloppy against Elan (in the quarterfinals), it was really important to come out and put them away early,” said Richmond forward Tom Carter, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Richmond (15-3) advanced to the regional final at 2:45 p.m. Saturday against fifth-seeded Vinalhaven (11-6). The Bobcats have won the last three regional titles and four of the last five.

Carter scored five points in the first two minutes and finished the first quarter with seven. He and center Kyle O’Brien dominated in the paint as the Bobcats opened their 22-0 lead.

“We came out hard,” said O’Brien, who had eight points in the first quarter. “That’s what we wanted to do and we did it.”

Richmond struggled to get going Saturday in its 49-34 quarterfinal victory against Elan, scoring nine points in the first quarter. Against Greenville, Richmond had nine points after four minutes.

Greenville didn’t score until Tony DiAngelo hit a foul shot six seconds into the second quarter. The Lakers didn’t get their first field goal until Alex Jardine made a 3-pointer with 4:54 left in the half.

“We’ve gone through this earlier in the year, where you get to a point where you just can’t make the ball go in the hoop,” Greenville Coach Paul Breton said. “What do you do after that?”

DiAngelo, who had 34 points in Greenville’s 68-67 quarterfinal victory over Valley, was held to 20. Carter played DiAngelo man-to-man for much of the game.

“We played him twice and I think down at Richmond, (Carter) did a real good job against him,” Richmond Coach Phil Houdlette said. “When we went up to Greenville, (DiAngelo) had 19 but he only had two field goals in the second half; he went to the line a lot. (Carter) plays great defense. Straight up.”

Richmond dominated in the paint, thanks to the 6-foot-3 Carter and the 6-5 O’Brien. Greenville, which had just two starters over 6 feet, couldn’t contend. O’Brien finished with 21 points and 20 rebounds.

“We’re a pretty tall team,” Carter said. “I’m not sure any team in Western Class D can stay with us height-wise. And it’s not just me and Kyle, either. Wade (Tuttle) is over 6 feet and Ben (Carver) is over 6 feet.”

Tuttle added 11 points for Richmond.