MT. DESERT ISLAND — The Nokomis Regional High School boys basketball team opened up a 19-point halftime lead, then held on to take a 56-51 win over Mt. Desert Island High School in the Eastern Class B preliminary round.

Nokomis, the No. 10 seed, improved to 12-7 and will face No. 2 Ellsworth (18-0) at the Bangor Auditorium at 9:05 a.m. Saturday. No. 7 Mt. Desert Island ends the season at 14-5.

The win ensured Nokomis its first trip to the regional quarterfinals since 2003.

The Warriors led 38-19 at the half, but the Trojans rallied and cut their deficit to 45-34 after three quarters.

Chris Braley led Nokomis with a game-high 31 points. Ruel Libby and Spencer Hartsgrove each had nine points for the Warriors.

Ben Walls led MDI with 14 points. Caleb McDonald added 13.