SCARBOROUGH — Bobby Cote scored a game-high 26 points Tuesday night to lead ninth-seeded Biddeford to a 65-59 victory against eighth-ranked Scarborough in a Western Class A boys’ basketball prelim.

Cote, the Tigers’ leading scorer making the most of his first postseason game, hit eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter.

“It’s always been the dream of our team to go to the (Portland) Expo (for the quarterfinals),” said Cote. “Every year I go there wanting to play and I was kind of tired going to watch (instead of playing). I knew today was a big game and so did our team. It was just exciting during the game. It’s a fun atmosphere to play in the playoffs.”

Now Cote will get his wish. The Tigers (10-9) will take on top-ranked Deering (15-3) in the quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Expo.

The Cote-sparked fourth- quarter surge turned out to be the difference in the game. He scored 13 of the Tigers’ 17 points in the period, and his eight-point run changed a two-point deficit into a six-point advantage.

Scarborough (10-9) never recovered.

“Cote making two 3s in a row (decided the game),” said Scarborough Coach Joe Johnson. “That was it. That was a game changer.

“Not only is he a good player but he’s a very smart player. He’s going to win them some games and I don’t think they’re done.”

The teams played fairly close to the belt in the opening half. Scarborough pushed out to an early 15-8 lead. Biddeford quickly got back on even terms by closing the first quarter on a 7-0 run to make it 15-15 by the end of the period.

Cote made his first scoring impact in the final four minutes of the second quarter. He scored eight points in a 17-5 run that put Biddeford ahead, 38-28.

“At times you wonder what the heck is he doing, then all of a sudden he starts hitting his shots,” said Biddeford Coach Mike Fecteau.

“He can turn a game around. He plays with so much confidence. He’s our leader and we go as he goes.”

A buzzer-beating long-distance 3-pointer by Kolbey Adams, who paced the Red Storm with 15 points, left Scarborough down 38-31 at the break.

The Red Storm carried the play in the third quarter and quickly tied the game.

They opened the period on a 7-0 run to erase Biddeford’s lead and even the score at 38-38.

The teams traded points for the remainder of the period and headed to the fourth even at 48-48.

“We hit some shots and it was a back-and-forth game,” said Cote.

“It was just a fun game to play in. I don’t want to say it was lucky, but every day is different and we got the shots to go down today and just won the game.”

Nicholas Leblond added 14 points for the Tigers.