LEWISTON — It wasn’t pretty, but for Mt. Blue coach Jim Bessey it could of have been a lot worse. Mt. Blue overcame a sluggish start and a pesky Lewiston press in earning a 56-43 boys basketball win Friday night.

Neither team looked fluid offensively until a 15-1 run by the Cougars in the second half.

“Both teams really played hard defensively,” said Bessey. “They played so well defensively it made it difficult for us, (but) we broke them down a couple of times during our little run.”

With the game knotted at 27 midway through the third quarter, Mt. Blue center Ted Neil hit a 15-foot jumper to ignite the outburst. Neil was a consistent offensive weapon all night long for the Cougars. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Later in the run he’d add a pair of free throws and another bucket in the low post area. Whenever he got the ball he seldom missed, as he connected on 8-of-12 shooting from the field.

“My teammates set really good screens for me,” said Neil. “I tried to cut to the ball as much as I could.”

As the Blue Devils (0-1) turned up the heat with their full court press, the Cougars kept finding the open man underneath.

“We’re a pressure team,” said Lewiston coach Jason Fuller. “I wasn’t real happy with our full-court pressure. (They) didn’t turn the ball over enough.”

The Cougars (1-0) received a big lift off the bench from Arthur Trask. The sophomore point guard tossed in 10 points and continually thwarted the Blue Devils press with long pinpoint passes down court that led to easy baskets.

His fastbreak lay up completed the 15-1 run.

“I thought he was the difference,” said Bessey. “He had a great game.”

While Mt. Blue found its offense in the third quarter, Lewiston never did.The Blue Devils managed just four points in the first quarter and seven in the third.

“We couldn’t buy a basket,” said Fuller. “We couldn’t hit a lay up in the third quarter.”

Lewiston narrowed the Mt. Blue lead to 46-39 after Chris Ford nailed a baseline jumper and Mike Cournoyer converted an offensive rebound with just over three minutes left in the game.

Mt. Blue, however, put the game away after a long possession ended with Brian Simpson draining a 3-pointer.

Joe Stachowiak paced the Blue Devils with 11 points and nine rebounds, but none of his teammates managed more than six points.

“I liked our intensity,” said Fuller. “We’ve got to do a better job with our halfcourt offense. We’re not getting quality screens and we’re not taking good passing angles.”