AUGUSTA — The Valley boys basketball team, despite holding the top seed in the region, played Saturday like it has something to prove.

The Cavaliers held No. 8 Islesboro to single digits in the first half and rolled to a 70-32 quarterfinal win to begin their quest for a Class D South crown. Sophomore guard Harry Louis led the Cavs with a game-high 26 points, while Fisher Tewksbury added 21 of his own.

“We’ve come here to make our mark and strike fear into other opponents,” said Tewksbury, who will join his teammates in a semifinal matchup against No. 5 Wiscasset. “We want to show them what we’re really here for. This year, we’ve got three or four threats (to score), instead of last year we had one or two. … We’re really working as a team.”

Valley (15-4) used a 17-0 first-half run to gain separation and never really looked back. The Cavs pounded the boards and won the rebound battle by a wide margin (33-20), while also finding the offensive efficiency that head coach Mike Staples hopes is a hallmark of his program.

The Cavs shot 51.8 percent from the floor, including 8 of 17 from beyond the 3-point arc (47.1 percent).

“It’s been a maturity thing,” Staples said. “There’s been times we didn’t take the right (shots), and the percentage wasn’t there. Working the inside-out, moving the ball, getting the guy in stride when they’re wide open and looking to take the right shots — we’re trying to work on that.”

Armed with a 30-8 lead at the break, Valley employed full-court pressure defensively in the third quarter. The results were impressive, as the Cavs rolled out an 18-7 run punctuated by eight points — including a four-point play — and four more from Tewskbury. By the midway point of the period, Valley had opened its already comfortable halftime advantage to a 48-15 lead.

Tewksbury finished with nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double.

“One of my teammates probably stole it from me,” Tewksbury quipped.

“I’ve been around kids a lot, and he’s one of the most incredible athletes I’ve ever seen. He truly is,” Staples said of Tewskbury. “He plays like he’s four inches taller than he is. He’s just an incredible athlete, and it shows when he’s on the court.”

Islesboro (9-11) was led by nine points from sophomore forward Robert Conover, but points were hard to come by for the Eagles.

Islesboro connected on only 1 of 14 three-point attempts in the first half (7.1 percent). They were only marginally better in the second at 3 of 11. Overall, the Eagles connected on 12 of their 49 field goal attempts (24.5 percent) after going only 3 for 24 through the first 16 minutes.

“We’d like to hold teams down under 20 or 30 points,” Tewksbury said. “We really need to compact our defense (going forward).”

“We know what it’s going to take to get to where we want to go,” Staples said. “We can’t just say we’re ‘OK.’ We want to have our best every single game.”

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