LEXINGTON -- The host Lexington boys' basketball team used overpowering middle quarters to run away from East Boston, 85-61, in the Division 1 North quarterfinals Tuesday night.

Lexington will face Lynn English in the semifinals in Salem.

Lexington outscored East Boston, 56-27, in those two quarters to widen a five-point lead at the end of the first frame to a 71-37 lead at the end of the third.

“I thought that our play in those quarters was brilliant,” said Lexington coach Bob Farias.

The offensive outburst by the Minutemen was sparked by the sage advice of Farias. He told his team to push the ball up the court.

“I’ve seen East Boston play and they don’t get back [on defense] quickly,” said Farias. “I knew we had to push the ball up the floor.”

His players took that advice to heart. Lance Greene (9 points, 4 assists), Lexington’s floor general, constantly penetrated into the lane before he kicked out to wide open perimeter shooters.

“We are very difficult to guard against,” said Farias. “Lance can penetrate and all of our players can hit 3-pointers.”

The Minutemen came out of the intermission and outscored East Boston, 9-0, in the first two minutes of the third quarter. That run put the game out of reach for the Jets.

Lexington employed a bevy of scorers in the game. Six players scored in double figures with junior David Miller leading the way with 15 points. Lexington also got contribution from the bench. Demetri Monovoukas had 11 points and JP Alexandre had 10 off the bench for the Minutemen.

“Everybody shot well today,” said senior captain Danny O’Keefe (10 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks). “We had a lot of help off the bench."

East Boston outscored Lexington, 24-14, in the fourth quarter but that was the only bright spot for the Jets. Stephen Samuels led Eastie with 13 points and Dimitry Coronel chipped in 10 points.