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AUGUSTA — There was no panic for the Mt. Abram boys basketball team when it went to the press in the second half.

The top-seeded Roadrunners allowed their stars, Killian Pillsbury and Brennan Mitchell, to change the momentum in a 55-49 victory over fourth-seeded Carrabec in a Class D South semifinal Wednesday.

Mt. Abram (16-4) will meet rival Monmouth Academy (15-5) in the regional final on Saturday. The Roadrunners defeated Monmouth in the 2025 Class C South final, 52-43.

“The press helps us so much,” Pillsbury said. “It turns people over. It gives us some confidence, and that’s what we needed. We couldn’t shoot, so we needed those defensive points.”

Mt. Abram went 21 for 61 from the field.

Pillsbury and Kaiden Longley turned a 30-26 halftime deficit into a 34-32 advantage early in the third quarter.

Pillsbury scored four of his 14 points in that stretch. He finished with seven steals, most of them in the second half.

Mitchell said repetition has helped make Mt. Abram’s press successful.

“Because we work really hard on that every day in practice,” Mitchell said. “We’re good on rotation. We all know where we’re supposed to be, and we pick each other off well.”

After Carrabec (12-8) battled back and led 47-42 going into the fourth quarter, Mitchell took over, drawing several fouls with drives to the basket. Eight of his 12 points in the fourth were from the free-throw line. He finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

“Yeah, I don’t really feel pressure. I shoot a lot of foul shots, so does my team, and we all trust each other,” Mitchell said. “We can hit big shots at big moments.”

The Cobras were outscored 13-2 in the fourth quarter.

“We had some costly turnovers down the end that didn’t give us a chance to win,” Carrabec coach Dave Pepin said. “But, you know, just the way these kids have come from the first day of tryouts, I was shaking my head, and it’s my first year with these kids, and only one starter back, and we were like one possession away or two from getting to the championship. So, my message to the team was: ‘I’m the proudest damn coach there is right now.’ And wipe some tears and say goodbye to my seniors.”

Colton Scheve led Carrabec with 15 points, Pete Vicneire scored 11 and Sam Sleeper chipped in with 10.