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AUGUSTA — Twice during the regular season, the Monmouth Academy boys basketball team held Mt. Abram’s high-scoring offense well below its season average.

The Mustangs did it again Saturday — and this defensive effort won them a regional championship.

Monmouth defeated Mt. Abram 60-42 in the Class D South final at the Augusta Civic Center. The win sends the Mustangs to the state title game next Saturday against North champ Machias (20-1), back in Augusta.

“We have a whole section of practice every day we call ‘defensive vitamins,’ and like all vitamins, they only work if you do it every day,” said Monmouth coach Wade Morrill. “Much to our boys’ dismay, we harp on that quite a bit, but you saw why today. I thought it was one of our better defensive games of the season.”

Top-seeded Mt. Abram (16-5), which was averaging 69.1 points per game, was held to its lowest scoring total of the season. The second-seeded Mustangs (16-5) outrebounded the Roadrunners 34-31 — a rarity against Mt. Abram — and held last year’s Class C South champs to 18-of-52 shooting.

“We just wanted it so badly that we just had to play defense really well on them,” said Monmouth junior Levi Laverdiere. “They’re a really high-scoring team and a good transition team, so we had to step it up on defense.”

Laverdiere led all scorers with 18 points (four 3-pointers) for No. 2 Monmouth. The Mustangs got strong rebounding efforts from Rory Foyt (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Jacob Harmon (eight rebounds).

Brennan Mitchell had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Mt. Abram.

Monmouth locked down early, allowing just seven points in the first quarter. The Mustangs then built a double-digit lead in the second half and put the game away late with a 21-point fourth quarter.

Mt. Abram’s standout guard, Killian Pillsbury, was held to four points.

“We were really on point with our communication up high and with what we were trying to do on the backside with our help rotations,” said Morrill. “I’m also proud of how we rebounded. Defense means nothing without rebounding and finishing the possessions, and we did a good job of that.”

Monmouth defeated Mt. Abram 87-57 when the teams first met on Dec. 11, before the Roadrunners prevailed 48-45 in a Jan. 16 rematch. Mt. Abram had won 14 of its last 15 games since an early three-game losing streak.

The teams clashed in a regional final for the third straight year. Monmouth beat Mt. Abram in the 2024 Class C South final en route to its first state title before the Roadrunners got revenge last season.

Both teams moved to Class D as part of the Maine Principals’ Association’s realignment before this season

“Last year left a bitter taste in our mouth — it was pretty upsetting — so we knew we had to come back here and get a win this time,” Foyt said. “We knew with their transition game, we had to get back quick after a shot, and we were able to play our game and get it done.”

Monmouth began the season with Laverdiere and Harmon sidelined following injuries during soccer season. Now healthy, though, the Mustangs have won 10 consecutive games since their loss to Mt. Abram.

Now, Monmouth is back on the state championship stage for the second time in three years. To win another Gold Ball, the Mustangs need another big defensive performance against Machias, the highest-scoring team in Class D at 71.8 points per game. 

“It feels pretty good, but we’ve been here before, and we have to win one more,” Foyt said. “After soccer season (losing in the state championship game), that also leaves a bitter taste in our mouth. We’re not going to take this lightly.”