Third-seeded Old Town scored the first 16 points of the second quarter to build a 30-11 lead and went on to post a 58-34 Class B North boys quarterfinal victory over No. 6 Hermon at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Friday.
Old Town, 16-3, will take on No. 10 Mount Desert Island in Wednesday’s 10 a.m. semifinal.
Hermon wound up 11-9 including three losses to Old Town.
Old Town junior forward Emmitt Byther pumped in 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, both game-highs. Speedy senior point guard Grayson Thibeault returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sprained right ankle and contributed 14 points, three steals and three rebounds.
Old Town lost both games in his absence.
Senior guard Aiden Gomm chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, three steals and three assists. Senior forward Brendan Mahaney added seven points and four rebounds.
Hermon received nine points and three rebounds from senior guard Madden Henderson. Junior guard Bryce Edwards and junior center Maddox Kinney each scored seven points. Edwards hauled down six rebounds and Kinney had four.
Thibeault and Gomm were the catalysts on the Old Town press that forced a lot of turnovers, especially in the second period.
Thibeault had four fast-break baskets during the decisive 16-0 run; Gomm had a couple of steals that produced layups as he converted one of them and passed to Thibeault for another.
Bither had four points and an assist in the spurt.
“It was awesome to be back playing,” said Thibeault. “The ankle felt really good.”
He said the team’s “defensive energy” in the second quarter was the difference.
“We got into passing lanes and got a lot of steals and fast break points,” said Thibeault.
Hermon didn’t score in the second quarter until Henderson converted a drive with 1:02 remaining.