Old Rochester Regional High School officially has Wareham High’s number when it comes to boys basketball.

After building a 14-point lead at the end of the first half, the Bulldogs held off the Vikings 61-58 Wednesday night in front of a loud, raucous crowd at Durfee High School in the Division III South Sectional semifinals.

“I felt it was our time,” said Old Rochester Coach Steve Carvalho. “We’ve beat these guys four times in a row now going back to last year — but it’s been a long time.”

The Bulldogs put on an offensive show in the second quarter, scoring 27 points led by junior forward Evan Santos and senior guard Ryan Beatty. Both scored 17 points overall, with Santos scoring 10 in ORR's big second and Beatty pouring in 12. The Bulldogs led 36-22 at the half.

From there, though, Wareham battled on the back of senior leading scorer forward Andy White, who had 29 points in the game after not scoring in the first.

“He took over there in the second half when we needed him to,” said Wareham Coach Kevin Brogioli. “He was our only offense there consistently. He went out the way a senior should go out — fighting to the finish.”

The Vikings were able to cut it to three late in the third quarter, but Old Rochester held on with tough team defense, keeping the lead from the early in the second quarter for the length of the game.

“I knew the Vikings would come at us,” said Carvalho. “I talked to the kids (at halftime) about being resilient, handling adversity. We bent some, didn’t break, but sustained that Wareham run which I felt was coming.”

ORR held Wareham's second-leading scorer, sophomore forward Jovahn Thomas, to only 10 points. Thomas led Wareham with 32 against Martha's Vineyard Saturday.

Three seniors fouled out in the game for Wareham, including White. White had a three-point shot to tie the game from straightaway with 18 seconds left in the game, but hit the back iron. He fouled out on ORR's next possession, and was unavailable for Wareham's final push.

“We cut it to a single possession on several occasions,” said Brogioli. “I was very proud of the way we battled back. Especially with the adversity of having three seniors fouled out of the game. We clawed back.”

Old Rochester's Jordan Menard stole the ball from Wareham's Mike Labonte with 4.4 seconds in the game, sealing the deal for the Bulldogs.

Both coaches commended their groups after the hard-fought matchup.

“I’m just really proud of the effort,” said Brogioli. “ORR deserves it. They beat a good team — I think they beat a very good team three times. And I hope the win it all now.”

“I’m very proud of my basketball team and these kids for their efforts,” said Carvalho. “I don’t think we’re done just yet.”

“It’s a great rivalry,” he added.

ORR will face Norton Saturday night at Taunton High School in the South Sectional Final.