KENNEBUNK — As can be expected in a regional semifinal, Friday afternoon’s Biddeford vs. Kennebunk boys tennis tilt came down to the final match on the court.

Up a set, but down a break at 3-2 in the second set against Biddeford’s Dakota Nightingale in the decider, Kennebunk junior Alex Pearson buckled down and won four consecutive games to take the No. 2 singles match 6-2, 6-3.

Pearson’s rally was the closing chapter in a sweep of the singles matches for the Rams, enough to push the third seed past the seventh-seeded Tigers, three matches to two.

Playing his second match in as many days in 90-degree heat, Pearson said finishing off Nightingale in straight sets had been crucial, as his serve began to slow down and the rallies got longer as the match progressed.

“The pressure was on,” Pearson said. “The heat was killer, but you’ve got to play the match either way, and I pushed through.”

With the win, Kennebunk moves on to the regional final, where the Rams will face the winner of Saturday’s Thornton Academy at Gorham match on Wednesday at Bates College.

“That was a good battle. We had one of our best singles players on the court and that’s what it all comes down too,” Kennebunk coach Tom Post said. “Alex has come a long way this season. We put the match on his shoulders, and we’re comfortable with it.”

Josh Behrens got the Rams on the board first with a straightforward 6-0, 6-1 victory over Biddeford’s Kyle Lagasse in the No. 1 singles, prolonging the Kennebunk senior’s three-year unbeaten record in team play.

Lagasse, who had been swept by Behrens 6-0, 6-0 in the first match of the year, was able to take the opening game of the second set this time around, jokingly asking for his picture to be taken with the scoreboard afterwards.

David Behrens was nearly as dominant as his brother at No. 3 singles, beating the Tigers’ Ken Reyes 6-2, 6-1.

Biddeford made its hay in the doubles, with Josh Pelletier and Josh McCauley beating the Rams’ Ben Skillin and David Cavagnaro 6-4, 6-4 to get the Tigers on the board.

The most competitive match of the day then came in the No. 1 doubles, with Ian Robinson and Kush Patel getting the better of Kennebunk’s Joe Beaudoin and Carter Stone.

Beaudoin and Stone had both sets on their rackets, serving up 5-4, but both times Patel and Robinson were able to break and then hold their nerve in the key moments to win 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).

“It went pretty much the way we thought it would,” Tigers coach Mark Ouellette said. “We thought we were going to be competitive at two singles, three singles and both doubles. We weren’t at three, but that’s the way it goes.”

Patel and Robinson’s win set up a winner-take-all scenario for Pearson and Nightingale, who had been forced to wait to start due to only four courts being available to play the five matches.

Nightingale, who had lost to Pearson in three sets in their first go-around, started off brightly by holding serve in the first game of the opening set Friday, but Pearson then rolled off six of seven games to cruise to an opening set victory.

Nightingale regrouped and broke Pearson early in the second, eventually coming to serve up 3-2, but Pearson was able to break right back with a beautiful forehand winner at game point, and even things at 3-3.

Pearson’s following service game went to deuce before he was able to hold on, and a break of Nightingale’s serve put the match on the Kennebunk junior’s serve.

Nightingale was able to get the game to 40-30, but Pearson closed things out with some nice hitting on an extended rally to take the decisive rally, and with it, the match.

“He just ran out of gas,” Ouellette said of Nightingale. “He was 1-11 last year and this year’s he’s been 10-5. He’s flipped it.”

Nightingale’s season mirrors that of his team overall, with the Tigers ending their best season in a decade with a record of 9-6.

On the other side, the Rams, who had beaten Deering 5-0 without dropping a set on Thursday, move on to face either defending-state champions Gorham or Thornton Academy, who play today at 2:30 p.m. in Gorham.

Gorham, 12-0 this season, goes into that match as odds-on-favorites and have already beaten Kennebunk 4-1 earlier this season, but Post said he thinks his team has what it takes to pull an upset if it does come down to a battle of the Rams.

“To be honest, I think we can play them even if we play like we did against Deering,” Post said. “We played competitively on every point right to the end and we can play with anyone that way.

“Then it comes down to who can hold up under pressure and who can make a shot when they need it.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 323.