BANGOR – As they have since the start of the 1994-95 season, the Bangor High School Rams used three key ingredients in their winning formula.

The recipe includes the effective use of the 2-3 zone defense, foul shooting down the stretch, and a patient, halfcourt offense.

The top-seeded Rams used all three to ward off stubborn Mt. Blue of Farmington en route to a 55-45 Eastern Maine Class A semifinal victory at the Bangor Auditorium Friday night.

Defending state champ Bangor will take on Old Town in the East final Saturday at 9 p.m. Old Town beat Brewer in Friday’s nightcap 87-78.

Jason St. Pierre scored 19 points and Mike Arsenault 15 to help lead the 18-2 Rams past 13-7 Mt. Blue. Tom Waterman led Bangor with six assists and three steals.

Thanks to Arsenault’s calm demeanor at the foul line, the Rams hit nine of their last 10 free throws and 17 of 20 in the fourth quarter. The sophomore forward was 8-for-8 in the final quarter.

Bangor’s 2-3 bottled up Mt. Blue leading scorer Ryan Fortier (seven points). But despite cold shooting from the field early (3-for-19 in the first half), the Cougars managed to make a late run at the Rams, despite a 10-0 Bangor run to start the fourth quarter.

Buoyed by its switch to an extended zone defense and a halfcourt trap, Mt. Blue cut a 16-point Bangor lead in the fourth to six points in four minutes.

But while the Cougars were making their late run, Bangor’s effectiveness in the paint kept piling up Mt. Blue fouls that handicapped the Cougars. Bangor reached the bonus with 1:33 left in the third quarter and the double-bonus with 6:20 left to play.

“They made it very difficult for us to get our wing shooters open, but we did manage to dump it inside and get some pretty good looks,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed. “I think we handled their pressure pretty well.”

Bangor did leave the door slightly ajar by committing 12 turnovers in the second half after losing the ball only twice in the first.

But the Rams adjusted in the final quarter as their guards made quick passes inside for easy hoops and/or fouls.

“They’re a very disciplined bunch,” said Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey. “The way they play makes it tough to catch them and we just ran out of time.”

Rams 55, Cougars 45

Mt. Blue (13-7) Bangor boys (18-2)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Miskin 1 3 0 0 3 Waterman 0 3 6 8 6

Fortier 3 10 1 2 7 St. Pierre 8 13 2 5 19

Ross 2 5 0 0 6 McCarthy 0 1 0 0 0

Ireland 0 2 0 0 0 Civiello 0 0 0 0 0

Bryant 0 10 0 0 0 O’Connell 1 1 0 0 2

Myrick 3 7 0 0 9 Arsenault 3 8 9 11 15

Wilkins 5 10 5 6 15 Guerrette 3 5 5 6 11

McLaughlin 2 3 1 2 5 Day 1 4 0 1 2

Totals 16 50 7 10 45 Totals 16 35 22 31 55

Mt. Blue 5 11 24 45

Bangor 10 21 30 55

3-pt. goals: Mt. Blue (6-16): Miskin 1-1, Ross 2-4, Bryant 0-4, Myrick 3-7; Bangor (1-5): St. Pierre 1-3, Arsenault 0-2