WATERBORO — Fresh off a stunning comeback victory against Gorham in the Class AA South Semifinals, Massabesic has its sights set on South Portland for tonight’s finals matchup at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

Many teams would feel an emotional hangover after such a thrilling victory, but according to Massabesic coach Chris Binette, his team has put Gorham in the rear view mirror.

“We were happy to get the win. Yesterday we came in and had a discussion, we talked about the game, but now it’s time to move on,” said Binette. “We took the night to enjoy the win, but we have to put it behind us. The last two practices we have come in and worked hard to get ready for South Portland.”

The Mustangs finished the regular season with a 14-4 record, which was good for the third seed. Massabesic pushed past Scarborough in the quarterfinals and beat Gorham 49-48 Tuesday night in the semis.

On the other hand, South Portland claimed the fourth seed, capping the regular season off with a 9-9 record.

The Red Riots beat Sanford in the opening round, then pulled off a big upset win in the final minute against top-seeded Thornton Academy.

Binette respects South Portland and believes the Red Riots’ size will present a challenge for his team.

“South Portland is long and they use it to their advantage. Coach (Kevin) Millington will have those boys prepared, he had them prepared for (Thornton Academy) and he will have them prepared for us,” said Binette.

The two teams faced each other earlier in the season with Massabesic rolling to a 64-47 home win against the Red Riots.

Binette believes the game will be much different this time around.

“We played very well against them early in the year, but that was on a small court. Now we have to get ready to play them on a big court,” said Binette. “They have great size, they have great rebounders, good post play. That is really what we are focused on.”

For a team that only claimed one victory in the season prior, Binette believes that nerves are natural, but they should fade quickly.

“I think for the first half against Gorham we were a little nervous. You could see the nerves, we were missing some bunnies early and it got us in a hole,” said Binette. “Once we calmed down and the nerves went away, we began to play the way we were supposed to play.”

The Mustangs enter the finals matchup motivated, wanting to extend this already historic season for their school.

“Getting to the Southern Maine finals is a huge thing for this school. This has never happened before in this school for basketball, so the community is excited,” said Binette. “Getting to the final game would be incredible for this team considering last year they were in last. The worst to first turnaround happening in just one year would be an amazing story.”

Although this is the furthest a Massabesic team has advanced, Binette expects his seniors to continue to step up Friday night in Portland.

“We have 11 seniors, we have the experience, now we just have to go out there and do it,” said Binette.

— Sports Staff Writer Alex Sponseller can be reached at sports@journaltribune.com. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.