PORTLAND — Portland radio stations come in just fine around Spruce Mountain High School. The Phoenix boys’ basketball players heard people talking on sports radio, questioning their 17-1 record.

Was the team from the first-year school legit?

Spruce Mountain answered plenty of questions Saturday with its 63-34 win over Wells in a Western Class B quarterfinal at the Portland Expo. Coach Chris Bessey said he was happy to let his Phoenix play the underdog role, so long as people keep underestimating them.

“Wells is a good team and well-coached, but (a Portland radio station) didn’t give us a chance,” Bessey said. “I think we felt a little disrespected.”

The Phoenix (18-1) earned at least a little respect against the Warriors (12-8). Spruce Mountain had a meager 9-8 lead after the first quarter, but stepped on the gas in the second, outscoring the Warriors 17-4.

It certainly helped that Wells picked up its seventh foul in the first quarter, as Spruce Mountain hit 7 of 9 free throws in the second.

Four of those free throws came during a devastating sequence for Wells. With 1:32 remaining in the half, Spruce Mountain’s James Barker was fouled by Josh Ingalls, who complained about the call. Barker hit his free throws, Zach Bonnevie made two more for a technical foul on Ingalls, and Spruce Mountain had a 22-10 lead, plus possession of the ball.

Wells, meanwhile, was watching its hopes wither at the free-throw line. The Warriors hit just 1 of 11 free throws in the first half and went 0 for 7 in the second quarter. The mixture of foul trouble for Wells’ top players and the poor shooting sealed the Warriors’ fate.

“Absolutely it hurts,” Coach Troy Brown said. “(Zach) Deshaies is our third-leading scorer all season and our first rebounder. He goes out with a couple fouls, an over-the-back and a charge but we’re better free-throw shooters than that. I don’t know what happened out there today, why we didn’t make free throws.”

Spruce Mountain didn’t have that problem, hitting 19. Zachary Bonnevie had six free throws, a couple 3-pointers and a few layups to finish with 18 points. Trevin Dunlop scored 11 points, while Jacob Bessey and Barker each had 10.

Bonnevie lit up when asked an innocuous question about the team’s mentality during the second quarter. His coaches have been pointing out the disrespect, getting the Phoenix to feed off it. Bonnevie had something to say.

“The whole time, we just wanted to earn respect down here,” he said. “We just wanted to prove a little point that the (Mountain Valley Conference) is a tough conference.”