Even dual 18-point performances – by Adam LaBrie and Cody Cook – couldn’t elevate No. 1 Yarmouth above No. 4 Lake Region, when the two teams met at the Cross Insurance Arena in the B West semifinals last Thursday night, Feb. 19.

Instead, the Lakers’ Jack Lesure fueled a scorching, 52-50 upset, snatching rebounds, coordinating the attack and channeling the ball to Marcus Devoe, who ultimately delivered a game-high 24 points.

Two days later, then, Lake Region clashed with No. 2 Cape Elizabeth in the Regional Final. Lesure, Nick Hall and Nate Smith all posted double-digit tallies as the Lakers chewed threw multiple deficits – even appearing to seize the second-half momentum.

The Capers surged back, however, ultimately earning the W, and a trip to States, on Ethan Murphy’s 20-point night. The 51-46 final bumped Cape to 18-3 on the year, while Lake Region retires till next season at 15-6.

The Lakers’ semifinals battle with Yarmouth seesawed from beginning to end. The Clippers’ Cote Sawyer opened the scoring, but Lesure soon grabbed a rebound and fed forward to DeVoe, who proceeded to drain the first of his seven – yeah, seven – threes on the night.

Devoe’s next three arrived at the end of the first quarter, and tied the score at 10 apiece; his fourth put Lake Region on top, 24-22 as the break approached. Yarmouth got the last laugh of the half, though, when Cook shrugged off a Quinn Piland stuff, grabbed his own rebound and nimbly slipped it home to balance the board, 24-24 at the buzzer.

LaBrie put the Clippers ahead 29-24 to begin the third, but a Nick Hall two brought the Lakers within one, 29-28, and a battery of DeVoe points – including another pair of threes – gave them the advantage yet again, 36-31.

A taut fourth peaked with 23.8 seconds remaining. His team on top, 50-49, Hall nailed a pair of critical frees for 52-49, forcing Yarmouth to try a three. Clipper Musseit M’Bareck lofted one up – but missed, and Lesure, as he’d done time and again, snatched the rebound, burning time off the clock.

Yarmouth fouled him, of course. But though he missed his shots, the Clippers couldn’t bail fast enough. 52-50 doomed Yarmouth to Davey Jones’s Locker Room – till next season, anyway. They retired at 16-4.

DeVoe’s seven threes set a new single-game tournament record for Class B, breaking the existing record of six, which stood for more than 20 years. In addition to his 24, Piland contributed 10 and Hall eight. Lesure hashed just four, but his work at point guard clearly catalyzed his teammates.

Lake Region faced a tougher challenge still in Cape Elizabeth; between them, the teams delivered one of the tournament’s most exciting battles. Cape came on strong at the outset, dashing to a 7-1 lead on points by Ethan Murphy and Justin Guerrette, but the Lakers soon fought back.

Lesure began it, finding Quinn Piland for two. Nick Hall then grabbed a pair of buckets – one a rebound, one a feed from Lesure – before Lesure himself converted two drives inside for four more and the 11-9 lead.

“The teams were evenly matched,” said Lakers head coach JP Yorkey. “Neither team was going to let the other get away from them.”

Capers head coach Jim Ray echoed Yorkey’s assessment.

“They’re just tough, fundamental competitors. They didn’t get rattled, we didn’t get rattled. That made for a great game,” he said.

Certainly the game belonged, on paper, to either squad; when they met in the regular season, Lake Region emerged victorious, 51-45.

Cape soon clawed ahead again on a Finn Bowe two, but Nate Smith next spoke up. Smith drained a three and assisted Piland on two more as the Lakers looked to edge ahead. Lesure fed Hall, then Piland, and Hall converted both a drive inside and a steal, and suddenly Lake Region led by six.

“Toward the end of the second quarter, it looked like we were going to pull away. Our guys have confidence, and we expect to win,” Yorkey said.

Cape went up eight to start the third, but again Lake Region surged, Lesure himself evening the tally at 38 in the early fourth and feeding Smith for a 40-38 lead seconds later. The Capers exploded promptly exploded, however, posting 11 unanswered to darken the Lakers’ horizon.

Yorkey nodded to Murphy’s late-game play as pivotal to Cape’s win.

“He’s a senior captain, multi-year starter and an all-conference player,” Yorkey said. “He made the big plays down the stretch, the biggest being the three-point play coming out of their time-out, when they were down two.

“I think if we got a stop on that play, and got the ball back with the lead, that we would have controlled the game the rest of the way and won.”

Lake Region got to work, of course, methodically chipping away at the 49-40 divide. But the clock ebbed faster than they gained ground, and with 10 seconds to play, they still needed five.

Lesure & Co. set their eyes on those five, refusing to give up as their window shrank. But for them to succeed, every look, step, pass and shot needed to find its target – and it didn’t. Lesure’s long throw upcourt following a Cape timeout found the hands not of its intended recipient, but of Caper Quinn Hewitt, who needed only hold on for the W.

The Lakers retire for the year at 15-6. Cape improves to 18-3, and face off with Medomak at 9 p.m. on Friday, at the Cross Insurance Arena.

Surely another of Cape’s keys was effectively quieting DeVoe, who totaled only six in the bout. Covering him left Hall (who earned 12), Smith (11) and Lesure (10) more open, however.

“We have a good collection of kids,” Yorkey said, “who have good overall size and athleticism. They’re fun to coach because you play in a variety of ways.”

Laker Jack Lesure circles around Yarmouth’s Musseit M’Bareck.Lake Region’s Nick Hall and Yarmouth’s Adam Clark wait for a free-throw attempt to fall or miss.Marcus DeVoe drives around Musseit M’Bareck of Yarmouth. DeVoe had 24 points, including seven threes, for the Lakers in their semifinals win over the No. 1 Clippers.Quinn Piland dishes over Musseit M’Bareck of Yarmouth. The spectacular pass – mid-air, over the shoulder – is representative of Lake Region’s machine-gun ball movement.Quinn Piland visits his fan contingent on his way off the court after Lake Region’s 52-50 win over Yarmouth in the tournament semis.Nate Smith drives for Lake Region in their Regional Final vs. Cape Elizabeth. Smith had 11 points in the loss.The Lakers’ Jack Lesure and Cape’s Ethan Murphy – two conference stars – square off.Lake Region’s Marcus DeVoe makes for the basket, having beaten his Cape defender.Quinn Piland hovers over Cape’s Ethan Murphy.Nick Hall of Lake Region and Justin Guerrette of Cape Elizabeth lock up in the teams’ Regional Final on Saturday.Nick Hall at the line in the final seconds; Lakers celebrate their win over Yarmouth; fans sing school song.