CHICOPEE - For most of three quarters, Holyoke Catholic was barely hanging on staying close as Lee's full-court press wore the Gaels down in the quarterfinals of the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Tournament.

But early in the fourth quarter, the dam finally broke as the sixth-seeded Wildcats ran off 10 straight points and pulled away to upset No. 3 Holyoke Catholic 74-59 on Friday at Fay Gymnasium.

"They're very aggressive. Their guard play is tremendous," Gaels coach Bob Prattico said. "We couldn't get in our offense. Their defense is tremendous. It wore us down."

That was Lee's plan going into the game.

"We know we have some really good athletes on our team that like to run and like to press," Lee coach Dan Korte said. "We thought if we could play that style for 32 minutes, by the end we could wear them down."

Lee (13-9) advanced to face St. Joseph's in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Curry Hicks Cage at UMass. The No. 2 Crusaders (15-6) beat Frontier Regional 61-55 in another quarterfinal Friday to advance.

Holyoke Catholic (12-9) did a good job containing Wildcat senior center Trey Morin, as the 6-foot-7 big man had just 10 points before the fourth quarter. But against a tiring Gael defense, the Lee guards began beating their defenders off the dribble to get in the lane.

That forced Holyoke Catholic's interior defenders to slide over to help, leaving Morin open. He scored 10 in the final period and finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

"We have some guards that can get into the paint and find him on the baseline," Korte said. "That's really hard to stop down low."

Prattico was impressed with Morin.

"He's good," Prattico said. "He's not only big, but he can really finish around the basket."

Despite struggling against Lee's pressure and trapping, the Gaels were able to stay within seven points for most of the first half.

But Lee's depth began to fatigue Holyoke Catholic early in the second half. A 3-pointer by Dalton Griffin pushed the Wildcat lead to double digits for good at 45-33 with just under three minutes left in the third.

Codey Moore led Lee with 25 points, while Griffin added 16, including four 3-pointers.

Nick Bryda led the Gaels with 31 points and 14 rebounds in his final career game, despite taking a forearm to the nose that drew blood early in the game.

He finished his career with 1,062 points and said he was glad to have reached the postseason.

"It was our first playoff experience," Bryda said. "I wish we could have gone farther, but I'm proud of us."

Holyoke Catholic sophomore Nate Powers added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Prattico praised his departing seniors - Bryda, Ryan Ferriter, Michael Laflamme and John Greaney - who led the Gaels to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

"This was a special group. I've known all of them since they were young," Prattico said. "It's sad that we finished in the quarterfinals, but it was special for me to coach these guys."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com.