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Top-seeded Greely had the shooting range early. Then Brunswick cranked up its defense.

That defense, combined with a highly efficient offense, enabled the Dragons to overcome an early 10-point deficit and convincingly knock off the Rangers 65-52 in a Class A South boys’ basketball semifinal Wednesday night at Cross Insurance Arena.

Jesse Devereaux scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four 3-pointers. Caleb Cost led Brunswick with 19 points and made half his shots. Cost and Thomas Hanson (14 points, 12 rebounds) were at their best in the fourth quarter when, after a brief turnover patch, Brunswick kept Greely at arm’s length on the scoreboard but covered very tightly on the court.

“I don’t think kids like to play against us,” Devereaux said. “I don’t think they like the tenacity in our defense. We’re physical … Everyone on the court is physical.”

Fourth-seeded Brunswick (15-5) will return to the CIA for Saturday’s regional final against No. 2 Falmouth (16-4) at 9 p.m. Falmouth edged Cape Elizabeth 52-49 in Wednesday’s other semifinal. In the regular season, Falmouth won at Brunswick, 61-51.

Greely came out hot, making four of its first six shots. Calvin Soule and Matt McDevitt hit 3-pointers in a 9-0 start, and Caleb Normandeau found the downtown range to push the lead to 12-2.

From that point the Dragons’ defense increased in intensity. Shots were blocked, charges taken, balls poked away and six turnovers forced in the second quarter. Greely shot 13 of 45 the rest of the way. Brunswick, a former Eastern Class A stalwart, shot 24 of 44 overall and a ridiculous 14 of 19 in the second half in its first trip to the CIA.

“They were probably more ready than we were at the beginning,” Devereaux said. “We pushed through it. We started hitting shots at the end of the first quarter.

“We started hitting shots and they went cold.”

Devereaux drained two 3-pointers of his own as Brunswick cut the lead to 13-12 at the quarter break. Neither team shot well in the second quarter but Hanson’s buzzer-beating putback had the Dragons in front 23-17.

With Jordan Bagshaw back from early foul trouble to start the third quarter, Greely briefly broke out of its scoring funk. Bagshaw converted twice inside and Normandeau scored at the rim and was fouled, cutting the margin to 25-24.

Normandeau missed the free throw and Brunswick finished the quarter on a 14-6 run, with Devereaux, Josh Dorr and Cost each hitting two baskets, Cost’s second being a well-defended 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“Our kids played hard but at the end they were just able to make shots,” Greely Coach Travis Seaver said. “I thought Devereaux played great. They’re a tough team. They have height. They have guys who can shoot. They defend pretty well.”

Devereaux’s last basket was another clutch 3-pointer, on a catch-and-shoot after Greely had scored the first four points of the fourth quarter. After that, Greely twice trimmed the lead to four. Both times Brunswick answered quickly. Then down the stretch two three-point plays from Cost and Hanson’s 7-of-8 free-throw effort put the win away.

McDevitt finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for Greely. Bagshaw added 14 points with Normandeau scoring 11.