AUGUSTA — The Old Orchard Beach boys basketball team are no longer a bridesmaid.

For the first time since 1994, the Seagulls will play in a regional final, after upsetting Waynflete 63-42 in the semifinal round of the Western Maine Class C tournament at the Augusta Civic Center on Thursday night. It was the third time this season the Gulls and Flyers played against each other, with Waynflete winning both games by 14 points and 18 points respectively.

“We played very well,” Old Orchard Beach head coach John Regan said. “Waynflete is a quality team, we have a lot of respect for them. The kids just came out and played hard tonight.”

The Gulls will have their toughest opponent of the season in the regional final on Saturday night. Old Orchard Beach, the No. 6 seed, will take on No. 1 Dirigo (19-1). The Cougars are the defending regional champs. Dirigo defeated Hall-Dale 90-31 on Thursday night. On the flip side, Old Orchard Beach has won 11 of its last 12 games.

Neither team faced each other during the regular season.

“Everybody’s asked that, and I’ve got to go back to about January 18th, when we were 2-6, and we just turned things around and won 11 out of 12,” Regan said. “I think it’s just a combination of the younger kids meshing in with the veterans, understanding their roles, that type of thing. We only had one starter back from last year’s team, so they had to learn their roles.”

For the Gulls, heading to the regional final breaks a string of recent seasons where the team has failed to get past the semifinal round. Old Orchard has reached the semifinals each of the past three seasons. The most recent are a loss to Dirigo in the semifinals in 2010 as wells as Boothbay last season.

But not in 2012.

Old Orchard Beach took over the game from the tip-off, using its zone defense to force nine turnovers from the Flyers. That, along with a 12-0 run, helped the Gulls take an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Seagulls added a 9-0 run in the second quarter to take a comfortable 34-18 lead into halftime.

“We forced them to take some shots that they may have not wanted to take,” Regan said. “Late in the game, they made a few, but we were able to get our lead and hold them off.”

Waynflete turned its play around in the second half, forcing 12 turnovers out of the Gulls in the half, and pulled to within 11 points of Old Orchard Beach in the fourth quarter. But the lead was just too steep for the Flyers, and the Gulls sealed the win late in the fourth with foul shooting.

“All of the coaching adages of beating a team three times start running through your head,” Waynflete head coach Rich Henry said. “I think it was running through the kids heads. Teams have tried to run zone against us to slow us down, and the kids were just not passing well at all. It might have been jitters. I think it was a good combination of the defense (the Gulls) were playing, and the jitters our team might have had. You’ve got to tip your hat to Old Orchard, they played very well.”

Leading the offensive effort for the Gulls was junior forward Quincy Grace, who scored a game-high 23 points. Joe Gildard added 12 points for Old Orchard Beach, and Anthony Langella-Laws also contributed with eight points. Nick Carlin led the Gulls with eight rebounds in the contest.

Serge Nyirikamba led Waynflete with nine points.

“It feels great,” Grace said. “Last year, we only won one game (in the playoffs).”This year, we’ve won two, so it feels great. They beat us twice in the regular season, so I think they based our abilities off of that.”

To give perspective, the last time the Gulls reached a regional final, Thornton Academy boys basketball coach Bob Davies was in his senior year with the Gulls, who reached the Maine Class C championship game. Old Orchard Beach lost to Schenck 82-65, and Davies was awarded the C.

Harry Edwards Award, given to the top player in the Western Class C tournament. It was the second time he had won it, also being recognized in the same capacity in 1993.

Tip-off for the regional final is set for 8:45 p.m. on Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.

— Contact Dave Dyer at 282-1535, Ext. 323.