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PORTLAND — Six games into the season, the Cheverus boys basketball team was just looking to stay afloat. Now, the Stags will be playing for a spot in the season’s final game.

Colton Jewett scored 21 points, freshman Khaelon Watkins added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and fifth-seeded Cheverus held off No. 8 Scarborough, 68-59, in a Class A South semifinal Thursday night at the Portland Expo.

Cheverus, which started the season 1-5, will play Saturday against No. 6 Portland, a 61-51 winner over Sanford. It’s the first trip to the regional title game for the Stags (12-8) since 2011.

“It’s a great opportunity. Not many players get to do this,” Jewett said. “Portland’s a good team. We’ve just got to battle, we’ve got to rebound, just play our game.”

The Red Storm (13-8) were looking to extend their Cinderella run after taking down No. 1 Windham. Scarborough got 25 points from Carter Blanche but couldn’t pull off another upset.

“My kids gave me everything they had. They emptied their tank tonight,” Scarborough coach Phil Conley said. “I’m proud of them. No one was expecting us to be here but us.”

Early on, it was Jewett leading the way for the Stags. He had 16 points through three quarters as Cheverus took a 46-42 lead.

“I kind of just felt like I was getting downhill pretty efficiently,” he said. “I was making some plays happen, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates giving me the ball.”

Scarborough didn’t go away. Blanche — who scored the team’s last seven points of the third quarter and first 13 of the fourth — hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-50 with 2:31 left, but then Watkins, the freshman standout, delivered the dagger.

He knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner, then followed it with another from the right for a 60-50 lead with 1:53 to play.

“It was big,” Watkins said. “The team needed energy, I felt like I brought it with those two 3s.”

Watkins’s talent has been a story this season. His ability in the clutch showed itself Thursday.

“He’s a different type of player,” Jewett said. “He can do it all. … He just brings a presence that nobody else on the team has.”

Cheverus coach Richie Ashley said he was happy with the poise his team showed in fending off the Storm.

“We’re a young team, and I thought we played well. We played composed,” he said. “(Jameson Fitzpatrick) and AJ (Lauture) are the only two that actually played significant minutes last year. … For them to be that mature at the end of the game, on that stage, in that setting, the credit goes to them.”

Jewett said the team showcased resilience it built during the slow start to the season.

“We’ve played through a lot of adversity,” he said. “If we didn’t lose those first five games, I don’t think we’d be the same team we are now.”

Scarborough got 12 points from Layton Garriepy and Will MacDonald and 10 from Adam Fitzgerald.

“In the end, when they look back at their season, this was a very successful season,” Conley said. “I’m going to miss my seniors, dearly.”