BANGOR – Foxcroft Academy has prided itself on its team defense in recent years.

On Wednesday night the Ponies used it to oust a state champion.

Foxcroft held Erskine Academy of South China to 24 percent shooting from the floor and used its success breaking the Eagles’ full-court press to dismantle the defending Class B state champions 59-36 in an Eastern B semifinal at the Bangor Auditorium.

No. 2 Foxcroft (18-2) will play for the regional title Saturday afternoon against the winner of the late semifinal between No. 1 Camden Hills of Rockport and No. 4 Presque Isle.

Erskine (17-3) couldn’t find success within the interior of Foxcroft’s zone, nor could the Eagles shoot over the top – they made just 3 of 27 tries from beyond the 3-point arc, with senior guard Darrell Haskell shooting 2 of 13 from long range.

Erskine made only 12 of 50 shots overall.

That defensive success stemmed in part from Foxcroft using a taller lineup, putting junior Shayne Croan in the back of the zone and allowing 6-foot-3 senior Matt Carey to work near Haskell on the perimeter.

“We played Shayne a lot more so I could get out on Haskell and give us some size out there, because a lot of their offense goes through him,” said Carey. “I just played on his side of the ball and tried not to give him those open looks.”

While Erskine’s offense struggled, save for 21 points from senior forward Josh Jones – including the 1,000th of his career – Foxcroft turned Erskine’s fullcourt pressure into layups.

“They’re incredibly athletic, we all knew they were,” said Erskine coach Tim Bonsant “They got a lot of easy points, and we missed open shots.”

Erskine came after Foxcroft with its trademark 2-2-1 press, but the Ponies broke through and created high-percentage shots, particularly for 6-4 senior center Kyle Rideout, who shot 10 of 13 from the field and scored 25 points.

“My teammates did such a great job breaking the press, spreading the defense and opening me up for shots,” he said.

Carey and guard Bobby Gilbert were the primary distributors, combining for 11 assists.

“They were very fast, but Matt and me just said that once we got the ball, we had to make a good pass and get the ball down the floor, and that’s what we did,” said Gilbert. “Once you get into the middle you can get some layups.”

Gilbert added 11 points for Foxcroft, as did senior guard Jason Cynewski, who hadn’t practiced since suffering a high left ankle sprain in the Ponies’ quarterfinal win against Mount View of Thorndike last Friday.

Cynewski scored nine points in the first half as Foxcroft took a 27-20 lead. The Ponies closed out the half with a 6-0 run that included a three-point play by Carey after he grabbed a loose ball in the lane and a layup by Croan.

The margin grew to 40-26 when Rideout scored twice and Gilbert hit a 3-pointer from the right baseline midway through the third quarter.

Erskine closed within 42-32 by the end of the period, but the fourth quarter opened as a layup drill for Rideout, who scored the first 11 points of a period-opening 12-0 run to give Foxcroft command at 54-32.

“If we can get the court spread out, we feel like Kyle’s a pretty tough matchup for anybody inside,” said Foxcroft coach David Carey. “He’s quite a man in there.”

PONIES 59, EAGLES 36

Erskine Acad. (17-3) Foxcroft Acad. (18-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Peterson 0 5 0 0 0 Cynewski 5 10 0 0 11

Cotnoir 0 3 0 0 0 McKusick 0 0

Cowing 0 0 0 0 0 Prescott 0 1

Lyford 0 1 0 0 0 Tirrell 0 1 0

Bagdoyon 1 3 0 0 3 LaCasce 0 0 0

Haskell 2 15 0 0 6 Berce 0 0 0

Kendall 0 3 0 0 0 Carey 3 11 7

Jones 6 10 9 12 21 Croan 2 3 4

Macklin 0 0 0 0 0 Gilbert 3 7 11

Leibowitz 3 8 0 0 6 Geiger 0 0 0

Boynton 0 2 0 0 0 Rideout 10 13 25

Philbrook 0 0 0 0 0

Staples 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 12 50 9 12 36 23 47 10 15 59

Erskine Acad. 13 20 32 36

Foxcroft Acad. 14 27 42 59

3-pt. goals – Erskine Acad. (3-27): Haskell 2-13, Bagdoyon 1-3, Lyford 0-1, Peterson 0-2, Jones 0-2, Cotnoir 0-3, Kendall 0-3; Foxcroft (3-12): Gilbert 2-3, Cynewski 1-5, Prescott 0-1, Tirrell 0-1, Carey 0-2