Meet the 5 Stars Who Dominated Maine’s Class A South Basketball Semifinals

These standouts led their teams to regional final berths.

Portland senior Cordell Jones helped the No. 6 Bulldogs to a second-straight tournament upset, this time beating No. 2 Sanford on Thursday. / JoJo Deschenes

Class A South Semifinals Thursday at the Portland Expo.

Destiny Peter, South Portland

An all-around effort from the 5-11 senior forward paced the No. 3 and defending state champion Red Riots as they staved off No. 2 Sanford's comeback bid in a 43-38 win.

Peter's efficient shooting, presence on the glass, and defensive instincts impacted the game in myriad ways. The Central Maine Community College commit finished with 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals, making much of her impact, while star junior guard Annie Whitmore, a quarterfinals standout, sat a portion of the first half with foul trouble. Of note, Peter dominated last year's state title game, the program's first crown in 39 years, with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Destiny Peter (24) and South Portland won the Class AA girls state title in 2025. / Maine Public

Kylie Lamson, Cheverus

The top-ranked Stags didn't take their first lead until less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, but emerged 45-39 over No. 4 Biddeford.

Lamson, a senior guard and Miss Maine Basketball semifinalist, scored 13 of her 26 points in the final frame, including the go-ahead bucket with 52.7 seconds to play. She also had 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

Lamson struggled in the first half, committing 6 turnovers despite scoring 9 points. She scored 17 second points in the second half and only had 2 miscues, lifting Cheverus to its fifth-straight regional final.

"She gets a lot of pressure all the time and finds a way to handle it," Cheverus coach Bill Goodman said during a postgame interview on the WHOU.live broadcast. "She didn't give up."

Kylie Lamson's dominant fourth quarter led top-seeded Cheverus to a comeback win over No. 4 Biddeford. / JoJo Deschenes

Cordell Jones, Portland

Known for his prowess on the gridiron as the state's best senior Fitzpatrick Trophy winner, the UMaine football commit shined in the No. 6 Bulldogs 61-51 win over No. 2 Sanford.

The 6-2 senior scored 15 points and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block. He scored the game's first 7 points to set the and after being saddled with some foul trouble, Jones helped fend off a comeback attempt.

Freshman guard Khaleon Watkins poured in to help No. 5 Cheverus knock off No. 8 Scarborough in the Class A South Semifinals on Thursday at the Portland Expo. / JoJo Deschenes

Khaleon Watkins and Colton Jewett, Cheverus

Get ready to see Watkins' name a lot over the next few years. The high-flying 6-3 freshman not only wowed the crowd with a dunk, but nailed a trio of timely 3-pointers en route to leading the No. 5 Stags to a 68-59 win over No. 8 Scarborough. Watkins finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Jewett, a 5-10 junior guard, scored a team-high 21 points on identical 7-9 shooting marks from the field and free-throw line.

Class A South Finals Schedule, Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Portland Expo

Girls, 6 p.m., No. 3 South Portland (18-2) vs. No. 1 Cheverus (19-1). By the way, that's a rematch of last year's Class AA state final under the old format.

Boys, 7:45 p.m., No. 6 Portland (15-6) vs. No. 5 Cheverus (12-8)

Live streaming will be available on WHOU.live (paid subscription required).