PORTLAND—This time was supposed to be different.

This time, Cheverus was the top seed, coming into the tournament after a tremendous regular season with confidence.

While the Stags were facing a dangerous foe in fourth-ranked Edward Little in Thursday’s Class AA North semifinals at the Cross Insurance Arena, consensus held that they were poised to advance to a championship game for the first time since 2011.

Instead, more semifinal round agony was the end result.

Cheverus, which hadn’t played a countable game in 15 days, fell behind the Red Eddies, 8-2, early, then came back to take the lead before Edward Little went up, 12-11, on a shot from senior Owen Galway just before the end of the first period.

The Red Eddies, who gained confidence by the minute, then went up by nine on a 3-pointer from senior Diing Maiwen (remember that name) before senior standout Leo McNabb and sophomore Nicola Plalum brought the Stags back within one. At the horn, Maiwen scored on a jumper and Edward Little took a 26-22 advantage to the half.

When Maiwen set up senior TJ Kramarz for a layup three minutes into the third quarter, the Red Eddies were up 10, 32-22, but Cheverus got off the deck and drew back within two on a long 3 from McNabb just before the end of the frame.

When senior Shema Rwaganje scored on a putback 31 seconds into the fourth period, the Stags were even and after junior Akol Maiwen’s free throw put Edward Little back in front, a jumper from senior Sammy Nzeyimana with 6:35 remaining gave the Stags their first lead since the first quarter, 39-38.

But they couldn’t extend it and with 3:37 left, Akol Maiwen’s putback put the Red Eddies ahead to stay.

Twice, Edward Little went up by four, but a long 3 from McNabb with 41 seconds remaining gave Cheverus hope.

The Stags then appeared to have a chance to steal it when they forced a turnover, but Akol Maiwen picked off a pass and fed his brother and Diing Maiwen soared for a thunderous dunk with 16 seconds to play for a little breathing room.

Still, Cheverus had opportunities to extend the game, but after McNabb missed a 3, the Stags got possession with under a second left.

Everyone knew the ball was coming to McNabb, but Cheverus never managed a shot at the horn as the Red Eddies sprung the 47-44 upset.

Akol Maiwen and Diing Maiwen each scored 14 points and Edward Little improved to 13-7, advanced to face second-ranked, defending state champion Windham (16-4) in the Class AA North Final Saturday at 2:45 p.m., at the Cross Insurance Arena and in the process, ended the Stags’ fine season at 16-4.

“It’s a tough loss,” said Cheverus coach Richie Ashley. “They played tough.”

“We’ve been talking about climbing the mountain and getting better each and every day,” said Red Eddies’ first-year coach James Philbrook. “We plateaued a couple times during the season, but we continued to believe in each other and stayed the course and improved throughout the season and we’re playing some good ball down the stretch now.”

Shock city

Cheverus began the season by downing visiting Deering in overtime (66-60), host Bonny Eagle (69-35), host Portland (46-38), visiting South Portland (66-44) and visiting Bangor (79-51) before falling at home to Windham (59-55). The Stags then beat visiting Massabesic (77-36), host Edward Little (58-43) and visiting Gorham (68-40). After a 61-49 home loss to Thornton Academy, Cheverus won at Sanford (83-68) and at home against Oxford Hills (70-45). After letting a late lead slip away in a tough loss at Deering, 65-62, the Stags bounced back and earned a pivotal 66-51 victory at Windham  before holding off host Scarborough, 59-54, winning impressively at South Portland (54-37), then edging host Lewiston, 49-48, before closing with a 58-43 home win over Portland.

As a reward for finishing first in Class AA North, Cheverus earned a bye into the semifinals.

Edward Little, meanwhile, was 6-6 at one juncture, then won five of its final six games.

In last week’s quarterfinals, the Red Eddies downed rival Lewiston, the No. 5 seed, 49-38, to advance.

In the teams’ regular season meeting Jan. 2, McNabb’s 22 points sparked the Stags’ victory. Diing Maiwen scored 18 for Edward Little.

Cheverus and Edward Little had split four prior playoff encounters, with the Red Eddies’ 59-47 win in the 2018 Class AA North quarterfinals the most recent.

Thursday, Edward Little started fast and did just enough at the end to pull off the stunner and break the Stags’ hearts.

Cheverus got off to a good start, as McNabb knocked down a jumper 48 seconds in, but Akol Maiwen drove for layups on consecutive possessions and after Diing Maiwen buried a fadeaway jumper, Kramarz put home a miss for a quick 8-2 advantage.

“We wanted to get off to a good start and be the aggressor out of the gate,” said Philbrook. “We did a good job of that and I think that helped us settle in.”

McNabb then ended the run with a floater off the glass with his left hand, then Nzeyimana set up senior Aaron Goodman for a short jumper to cut the deficit to two.

After Kramarz scored again, making a layup off a feed from junior Cedric Makelele, McNabb countered with a baseline jumper, then with 1:45 on the clock, Plalum buried a long 3 to put the Stags back in front.

It wouldn’t last, as Galway’s bank shot with 35 seconds left made it 12-11 Red Eddies after one quarter.

Edward Little was able to retain the lead throughout the second period.

Galway took a pass from Diing Maiwen and made a layup to start the frame, then Galway added two free throws.

After Plalum drove for a layup, Makelele kept possession alive with an offensive rebound, then kicked the ball out to Akol Maiwen for a 3.

Then, with 5:14 left in the first half, Diing Maiwen’s 3 put the Red Eddies ahead by nine, 22-13.

Cheverus then flipped the switch and scored eight straight points.

The rally began with McNabb taking a pass from Nzeyimana and making a layup.

Plalum then hit a 3 and McNabb said, ‘anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better,’ burying an even longer 3-ball to cut the deficit to just one.

Diing Maiwen ended the surge with two free throws and after McNabb hit one foul shot, Edward Little missed a shot as time wound down, but Diing Maiwen reached down to grab the rebound, then rose and buried a short jumper at the horn for a 26-22 halftime advantage.

Diing Maiwen led the way in the first half with nine points and seven rebounds, while Akol Maiwen added seven points, negating 12 points from McNabb and eight from Plalum.

The Red Eddies then began the third period with six straight points to go up double digits.

Diing Maiwen fed Galway for a layup, Akol Maiwen hit a jumper, then Diing Maiwen picked up another assist, finding Kramarz for a layup and a 32-22 lead.

Cheverus finally answered with 3:46 on the clock, as sophomore reserve AJ Lauture took a pass from Nzeyimana and made a layup to snap a 4 minute, 59 second scoring drought and a 7:15 field goal drought.

Nzeyimana then drove for a layup, forcing Philbrook to call timeout.

Out of the break, the Stags kept coming, as Lauture took a pass from McNabb and sank a 3 from the corner to cut the deficit to three.

Kramarz then caught Cheverus napping on an inbounds pass, going up for a open short jumper and burying it.

After McNabb got a point back at the line, he went up-and-under and finished in impressive fashion to make it a two-point game.

In the waning seconds, Diing Maiwen made a 3 for the Red Eddies, but at the horn, McNabb’s NBA-range 3 pulled the Stags within just two, 37-35, with eight minutes to go.

Cheverus had ample opportunity to win it in the fourth quarter, but ultimately, Edward Little made the biggest plays to complete the upset.

Thirty-one seconds into the final period, a Rwaganje putback tied the score.

Akol Maiwen got a point back at the line, but with 6:35 remaining, Nzeyimana’s jumper finally gave the Stags the lead, 39-38, their first since the score was 11-10.

For almost three minutes the score remained the same and Cheverus had looks to extend it, but couldn’t do so and with 3:37 left, Akol Maiwen’s putback gave the Red Eddies the lead back.

And they’d never relinquish it.

After the Stags failed to answer, Galway buried a clutch 3 from the corner with 2:57 showing and the lead was four.

Makelele had a chance to extend it when he went to the free throw line with 1:57 to go, but he missed both attempts and 17 seconds later, at the other end, McNabb’s putback pulled Cheverus back within two, 43-41.

Instead of milking clock, Akol Maiwen drove right to the basket and with 1:30 left, he converted a layup to make it a two-possession game again.

After Nzeyimana and Rwaganje missed 3s, Diing Maiwen got the rebound and tried to race in and score to put it away, but he missed and at the other end, with 41 seconds remaining, Nzeyimana set up McNabb for a long 3 to give the Stags life, as they trailed by just one, 45-44.

Cheverus amped up the defense and appeared to get the break it needed when Lauture stole the ball, but Akol Maiwen won it right back and threw it up the court where Diing Maiwen broke free.

To the surprise of no one who knows how Maiwen has dominated the highlight reels this year, the standout soared and slammed the ball home with two hands to make it 47-44 with 16 seconds to go.

“That (dunk) felt great,” Diing Maiwen said. “We’ve just got dogs, one through 13. Everyone on the team. We have small breakdowns, but it takes tough guys to get it right back and keep pushing. It’s just about forgetting what happened and getting the ball.”

The Stags hoped for the equalizer, but McNabb’s 3 was off the mark and after the rebound fell to the floor and was tied up, the possession arrow gave Cheverus one final chance.

But the clock read just 0.6 seconds.

And after an initial inbound attempt was tipped out, the clock was reset to 0.3

The Stags still had a chance to hit a 3 and save their season and with McNabb blanketed, Rwaganje’s inbound pass was deflected again and that was enough to run out the clock on Edward Little’s 47-44 victory.

“Coming into the season, a lot of people didn’t think we could compete, but we believed,” Diing Maiwen said. “We’ve been working our tails off the last week for this game. We all believe in each other. Even the guys who didn’t get in the game pushed us. We just kept each other up. We didn’t want this to be our last game.”

“I just told the guys to guard the 3-point line at the end,” Philbrook said. “We had Diing guard the inbounder. It was just great execution.

“We just play hard and whatever happens happens. We had some luck today. It could have gone the other way. We had a good matchup with them at our place earlier this season, but we didn’t take care of the ball. That was a huge emphasis today.”

Akol Maiwen and Diing Maiwen (nine rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, two steals) each had 14 points to lead the Red Eddies.

Galway added 11 points (and six rebounds) and Kramarz had eight points (and six rebounds).

Edward Little overcame 14 turnovers and hit 5-of-8 free throws.

Looking ahead to Saturday, the Red Eddies lost at Windham, 78-56, back on Dec. 17. Diing Maiwen had 20 points in that one, but couldn’t stay on the floor, fouling out of the game.

The Eagles held off No. 3 Portland in their semifinal Thursday, 65-56.

Edward Little will be a decided underdog yet again, but hopes to shock the world once more.

“It feels amazing (to play in the regional final),” Diing Maiwen said. “It’s our revenge tour. We lost to Windham during the season too. We have some unfinished business.”

“Cheverus and Windham were heads and shoulders above everyone else this year,” said Philbrook. “We competed with Cheverus for three quarters and Diing fouled out in the third quarter of the Windham game. We knew we could compete with these teams (in the tournament). We had to do the little things well.

“It’s great to get back to the regional final. We’ve had a couple down years, but I told these guys from the first day of summer basketball that they could be something special.

“We have a tough opponent coming up. We’ll get ready and see what happens. They have seven, eight guys who can beat you. We’ll have to do a great job on the defensive end. We’ll have to take care of the basketball and execute.”

Tough one to shake

For Cheverus, the superb McNabb bowed out with 23 points.

Plalum added eight points and had six rebounds and three steals. Lauture had five points (to go with five rebounds and five steals), Nzeyimana added four points (to go with five assists) and Goodman and Rwaganje (nine rebounds) finished with two apiece.

The Stags made six 3-pointers to the Red Eddies’ four and had a slim 30-29 rebound advantage, but turned the ball over 18 times and made just 2-of-4 free throws.

“It was a physically officiated game, both ways, and it took awhile to adjust to that,” Ashley said. “I thought that (the Red Eddies) were able to capitalize, especially early on. We had a bunch of turnovers. We’d bust our tail to get a turnover, then immediately threw it away. We hoped to capitalize on some things and it didn’t come to fruition. We had chances to make shots. We didn’t get the ball inside. We wanted to get the ball to Leo at the end, but there wasn’t much you can do with that little time left.”

Graduation will take its toll, as Goodman, McNabb, Nzeyimana, Rwaganje, Brady Mitchell and Igor Nganji all depart.

Cheverus will be back in contention next winter, but the sting of this loss will take time to recede.

“I’m going to miss the seniors greatly,” Ashley said. “Certainly, it’s not the way they wanted to go out. It’s going to take awhile to get over this one, but I’m proud of them.”

BOX SCORE

Edward Little 47 Cheverus 44

EL- 12 14 11 10- 47
C- 11 11 13 9- 44

EL- A. Maiwen 6-1-14, D. Maiwen 5-2-14, Galway 4-2-11, Kramarz 4-0-8

C- McNabb 9-2-23, Plalum 3-0-8, Lauture 2-0-5, Nzeyimana 2-0-4, Goodman 1-0-2, Rwaganje 1-0-2

3-pointers:
EL (4) D. Maiwen 2, Galway, A. Maiwen
C (6) McNabb 3, Lauture 2, Plalum

Turnovers:
EL- 14
C- 18

Free throws
EL: 5-8
C: 2-4