BANGOR – No. 1 Calais got a stiff challenge from No. 4 Houlton in Friday night’s Eastern Maine Class C semifinal.

But Brandon Tomah and the undefeated and defending Class C state champion Blue Devils were too much for the Shiretowners late in the game.

Tomah had another stellar game with 23 points and seven rebounds to power undefeated Calais to a 54-45 win, the team’s 20th victory of the season, and a spot in tonight’s Eastern Maine Class C semifinal.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Tomah, a senior forward. “We’ve all been working hard all season. Our motto is, nobody works harder than we do, and so if you do that things will be all right.”

Coach Ed Leeman’s Blue Devils will be matched up against No. 2 Piscataquis of Guilford in the title game, which starts 15 minutes after the awards ceremony for the 7:05 p.m. EM Class C girls final.

Calais earned its scoring margin in the second quarter when it took advantage of five Houlton turnovers and went on an 11-0 run. Tomah scored 14 points in the first half.

The Blue Devils were up 30-20 at halftime and used their transition game to build their lead. Calais struggled to score at times against the Shiretowners’ 2-3 zone defense.

“That was our game plan coming into the game,” said Houlton senior guard Drew Farrar, who led the Shires with 13 points. “We had heard that their coach knew that, but we know that was our best choice against them. That’s what we stuck with until we had to go man to try to get back into it.”

Calais was ready for the defense.

“We practiced all week on zone,” Tomah said. “We have some athletes, but they really get up on you and make it hard to get open looks. We worked hard, though.”

Calais had a 16-point lead early in the fourth, but two Houlton runs got the Shiretowners back in it. The second streak, in which the Shires scored nine unanswered points, cut the Devils’ lead to 45-41.

The Shires converted two Devil turnovers in their second scoring run. Farrar hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-37, followed by a Michael Cleary jumper after Calais was called for an offensive foul. Farrar then drove for a lay-in and Houlton got it down to three points.

Tomah drained a 3-pointer with 2:28 remaining to end the run and Calais’ Sam Bell (10 points), who added 10 points, followed with a driving basket for a nine-point lead.

“Coach was telling us, he wanted us to get a layup,” Tomah said. “It was a stretch for me to shoot it, but it went down, so he was happy. Once we settled down, we were all right.”

Calais guard Robbie Rogers had the tough defensive job of stopping guard Farrar, who had 14 points in Houlton’s quarterfinal win over No. 5 Orono.

“He did a great job,” Farrar said. “The pressure was crazy and he forced me to make a lot of turnovers. That was their game plan, I’m sure. But we tried our best as a team to overcome that. We had a fun time out there.”

Houlton’s James Bates chipped in with 11 points.

BLUE DEVILS 54, SHIRETOWNERS 45

Houlton (12-8) Calais (20-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Brown 1 5 1 1 3 Shorey 0 5 0

Austin 0 0 0 0 0 Tomah 10 23 21

Farrar 4 9 3 4 13 Rogers 1 6 2

Bates 5 9 0 0 11 Taylor 2 6 7

Hill 1 3 1 2 3 Bell 5 9 0 10

Cleary 2 4 0 0 4 O’Neil 1 1 2

Beals 4 7 0 0 8 Leeman 1 1 4

Crmchael 0 0 0 0 0 Tirrell 3 5 8

Hagerman 1 2 1 2 3

McGuire 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 18 39 6 9 45 Totals 23 56 13 54

Houlton 12 20 27 45

Calais 10 30 38 54

3-pt. goals – Houlton (3-6): Farrar 2-4, Bates 1-1, Brown 0-1; Calais (4-16): Tirrell 2-3, Leeman 1-1, Tomah 1-6, Shorey 0-1, Rogers 0-2, Bell 0-3