JAY — Spruce Mountain couldn’t escape the long arms of Gray-New Gloucester’s defense Friday night.

The Patriots were all over the worn-out Phoenix and used a mixture of zone and man-to-man defense that stifled Spruce’s offense in a 64-24 girls’ basketball victory.

Gray-NG’s defense is one explanation for its 8-0 record this season. The other half of the Patriots’ success is their offense.

“I think they are what a lot teams try to defensively — the way they work together, how hard they play every single possession regardless of the scoreboard,” Spruce Mountain coach Zachary Keene said. “There is a reason they are the favorites to win Class B. I think a big part of that is the way they play defense together.

“They throw different looks at you, and it makes it tough. They all understand what they are supposed to do. They are all on the same page. They are just really good.

“They get up and down fast. They play fast, put pressure on you. Reset for next week — that is all we can do.”

The Patriots’ uptempo offense was also too tough to handle, and Spruce (2-6) looked tuckered out after Thursday’s night’s strong performance against Gardiner.

The first quarter was just a preview of how well the Patriots handled themselves when they quickly built a 22-3 lead going into the second quarter. Gray-NG didn’t stop there and made itself quite comfortable with a 43-14 lead at halftime.

The Patriots kept pulling further away from Spruce Mountain in the second half.

“We worked had on (defense) … because of Alex (Bessey) because she is just so tough, and the thing was to stay disciplined and not to reach because she kind of exposes the ball and wants you to reach in and get you into foul trouble,” Gray-New Gloucester coach Mike Andreasen said. “I thought we did a good job with it.

“Our offense was pretty solid today, too. So both things were clicking. Probably the first half was the best half we had in a long time.

“I think with them obviously coming off a game last night, it’s hard because of legs. We are a pretty solid team.”

Captain and guard Grace Kariotis threw in 12 points to lead the Patriots’ charge. Teammates Brianna Jordan and Skye Conley each came up wth 10 points.

Spruce Mountain’s Alex Bessey and Haley Turcotte each threw in 11 points, with Turcotte knocking down three 3-pointers.