AUGUSTA — In mid-January, the Old Orchard Beach boys’ basketball team was struggling. The Seagulls were 2-6 and not even playoff contenders.

What a difference a month makes.

Old Orchard Beach beat second-seeded Waynflete 63-42 Thursday night to advance to the Western Class C final at the Augusta Civic Center. Since Jan. 13, the sixth-seeded Seagulls (13-7) have lost just once. It’s a run even they didn’t see coming.

“I told myself that we weren’t going to make the playoffs,” sophomore guard Joe Gildard said.

The Flyers (15-4) probably wish that was true.

Old Orchard forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, including six steals, as it built an 18-8 lead. The Seagulls added four more steals in the second quarter and led 34-18 at halftime.

“Right from the opening tip we were shaky with the ball,” Waynflete Coach Rich Henry said. “We knew they were going to play zone. We talked about what to do against it. And we were throwing the ball into their arms.”

The Flyers didn’t struggle with holding onto the ball in the third quarter, but instead hit just 3 of 20 shots.

Waynflete made a short-lived run in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 20, the Flyers scored 10 points in a minute and a half of play to cut the deficit to 53-42 with 3:20 to play.

But Old Orchard hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final three minutes.

“(The defense) was key,” Seagulls Coach John Regan said. “Our 2-3 zone forced them to take some shots maybe they didn’t want to take.

“They’ve got some good inside players. We knew we had our work cut out, but we figured that was our best option.”

Quincy Grace had 23 points, mostly in the paint, to lead Old Orchard’s scoring. Gildard finished with 12 points.

But it was Old Orchard’s defense that shook the confidence of another high seed.

“Once we got a good lead. I’m pretty sure we got in their head a little bit because they’re (a top seed),” Gildard said. “We came out of nowhere and just played good basketball.”

They’ll have to do it one more time. After taking out No. 3 Boothbay and No. 2 Waynflete, the Seagulls will meet top-seeded Dirigo, the three-time defending regional champion, in Saturday’s final.