BANGOR – The two unbeatens in the Eastern Maine Class D boys basketball tourney field advanced to a rematch of their 2006 regional final with wins Monday – but not before the two-time defending state champs survived a major scare.

No. 3 Central Aroostook of Mars Hill was taken to the brink in its quarterfinal by No. 6 Calvary Chapel of Orrington, but experience was the difference as the Panthers earned a 64-58 victory to extend their winning streak to 42 games.

No. 2 Deer Isle-Stonington had no such difficulty, cruising past No. 10 Katahdin of Stacyville 85-44.

Central Aroostook (20-0) and Deer-Isle Stonington (19-0) will meet in a 7:05 p.m. semifinal Thursday.

Calvary Chapel used dominant inside play to control much of its contest, with 6-foot-7 Ian Seekins and 6-3 Alexander Merrill combining for 19 points and 17 rebounds in staking the Sabers to a 34-26 halftime lead.

But after Luke Thomas opened the second half by banking in a jumper to give the Sabers a 10-point cushion, Central Aroostook increased its defensive intensity and rallied, outscoring Calvary Chapel 18-8 in the third quarter for a 44-42 lead.

Junior guard Cameron York hit two 3-pointers in the period while 6-7 Silas Kelly added eight points and five rebounds, including a baseline jumper off a York feed that gave the Panthers their first lead since 4-3.

“We finally played defense the way we were capable of,” said Central Aroostook coach Tim Brewer. “In the first half we were timid both on offense and defense. I thought the kids had a little deer-in-the-headlights look. I thought we played solid for the first four minutes of the third quarter and that was about it.”

Seniors Tim Carlson and Sam Clockedile provided leadership for Central Aroostook down the stretch. Clockedile scored 10 fourth-quarter points, including a three-point play and a 3-point jumper from the left corner that gave the Panthers a 54-52 lead with 2:52 left.

Seekins soon fouled out, but Calvary Chapel hung around, taking a 57-55 lead when Merrill converted a three-point play with 2:19 to play.

Carlson hit a 15-footer to tie the game, and after Merrill made 1 of 2 from the line York hit a baseline jumper to give Central Aroostook a 59-58 lead with 56 seconds to play. Kelly followed with a jumper from the lane to give the Panthers some breathing room as Calvary Chapel fell victim to three straight turnovers.

“I think our inexperience with pressure at the tournament showed, especially down the stretch,” said Calvary Chapel coach Mike Warman. “We had chances where we could build a decent lead, but we turned it over at some key times. It’s hard to give them experience at this level without being there.”

Clockedile had 16 points to lead five Central Aroostook scorers in double figures. Carlson added 15, while Manny Martinez had 12 first-half points, Kelly finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and York scored 10 points, all in the second half.

Merrill finished with game-high totals of 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Thomas had 13 points, Jesse Newman scored nine and Seekins had seven points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots.

In the second game, Deer Isle-Stonington used defensive pressure and fast-break offense to pull away from Katahdin.

“That’s really what we want to do,” said Mariners coach Glenn Billings. “We’re a transition team. We can play in the halfcourt if we have to but we prefer the transition game where we can get out and use our quickness and our size to create the turnovers we want.”

Senior forward Rob Brown was the chief beneficiary of that transition attack, scoring a game-high 18 points on 7 of 7 shooting from the field.

“These guys weren’t really a big team, so we pressed them and then tried to pound the ball inside on offense,” said Brown. “But we press a lot against every team.”

Collin Ciomei added 16 points and five rebounds, while Jon Eaton had 14 points and nine rebounds and Bryant Ciomei scored 10 points.

Shane Eaton added nine rebounds and Eben Powers added eight boards against a smallish Katahdin lineup that got even smaller when senior center Jared Anderson went out with an ankle injury late in the first quarter with the Cougars hanging within 18-12.

Katahdin’s Kevin Osnoe hit a jumper on the same play, but that was the Cougars’ only offense during a 14-2 run that turned a 10-10 tie into a 24-12 Deer Isle-Stonington cushion midway through the second quarter.

The score was 43-25 at the break, and the Mariners opened the second half with an 18-2 run to put the game away.

PANTHERS 64, SABERS 58

Calvary Chapel (15-5) C. Aroostook (20-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Veilleux 2 5 2 2 6 Walling 0 0 0

Newman 1 8 7 8 9 York 3 12 10

Thomas 5 8 2 5 13 Brewer 0 0 0

Madden 0 0 0 0 0 Carlson 6 18 16

Miller 0 0 0 0 0 Clockedile 4 15

Austin 0 0 0 0 0 Martinez 5 12

Merrill 9 15 5 7 23 L.McCrthy 0 0

Seekins 3 9 1 2 7 B.McCrthy 0 0

Monroe 0 0 0 0 0 Kelly 5 16 11

Totals 20 45 17 24 58 Totals 23 63 11 17 64

Calvary Chapel 14 34 42 58

Central Aroostook 12 26 44 64

3-pt. goals – Calvary Chapel (1-6): Thomas 1-2, Merrill 0-1, Newman 0-3; Central Aroostook (7-19): Clockedile 2-3, Martinez 2-4, York 2-5, Kelly 0-1, Carlson 1-6

MARINERS 85, COUGARS 44

Katahdin (10-10) DI-Stonington (19-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Morse 0 0 0 0 0 Powers 3 7 6

T.Andrsn 1 9 0 0 2 Pinkham 1 2 3

McNally 0 0 0 0 0 C.Ciomei 6 10 3 5 16

J.Andrsn 2 4 0 0 4 Boutilier 4 8

Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 Siebert 2 4 4

Osnoe 1 1 1 2 3 Pratt 1 3 2

Guiggey 2 3 1 2 5 J.Eaton 3 6 14

McCarthy 0 3 0 0 0 Brown 7 7 18

Lake 0 1 0 0 0 Hardie 0 3 0 0

Gould 5 16 2 2 14 B.Ciomei 5 10 0 0 10

Curtis 4 5 0 0 8 S.Eaton 2 9 4

Craig 1 6 0 0 2 D.Eaton 0 0 0

E.Qualey 0 2 0 0 0

Moore 1 1 0 0 2

Curtis 2 3 0 0 4

Totals 19 54 4 6 44 Totals 34 66 14 20 85

Katahdin 12 25 32 44

Deer Isle-Stonington 22 43 63 85

3-pt. goals – Katahdin (2-14): Gould 2-9, Craig 0-2, McCarthy 0-3; Deer Isle-Stonington (3-9): J. Eaton 1-1, Pinkham 1-1, C. Ciomei 1-2, Pratt 0-1, Hardie 0-1, B. Ciomei 0-1, S. Eaton 0-2