TOPSHAM – Get Edward Little early in the season, in your own raucous, echo chamber. Play your best game. Prevent the Red Eddies from achieving theirs.

It’s probably a scary sign for the rest of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference that Mt. Ararat followed the blueprint for beating the consensus No. 1 team in the South Division to the square inch, only to see its work crumble like a sand castle.

Rebounding and rambunctious defense overcame a multitude of sins Friday night, allowing the Red Eddies to escape with a 71-64 victory in their boys’ basketball season opener.

“Not the perfect game,” said senior forward Corey Therriault, “but I guess we got the win and we’ll build off it.”

Therriault led all scorers with 21 points – 11 from the free-throw line – and was a full-court catalyst with seven steals. James Philbrook added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

EL trailed by as many as five points in the first half, surviving five ties and three lead changes before scoring the last six points to build a 32-26 halftime advantage.

Six quick points by Therriault expanded that edge to nine. EL protected most of that cushion throughout a ragged third quarter and fought off a flurry of 3-pointers and mini-runs by the Eagles thereafter.

“Edward Little was the obvious preseason No. 1, and tonight they showed why. We gave them everything we could,” said Mt. Ararat coach Aaron Watson. “At this point in the season we gave them our best game.”

Will Gerencer drained five of Mt. Ararat’s eight 3-pointers and topped the Eagles with 19 points. Cam Vermette chipped in 17 points. Sophomore point guard Josh Walker coupled 11 points with eight assists.

By comparison, EL went hitless from beyond the arc all night. The Eddies only attempted one bomb. Instead, they constructed their attack around an endless supply of second-chance buckets, transition layups and free throws.

The tall, athletic Eddies’ strength in those areas, with the notable exception of 10 misses from the line in the fourth period, allowed them to atone for 23 turnovers. EL also enjoyed a 48-29 edge in rebounds.

“Rebounds especially have been a big point of emphasis for us. We don’t have 6-(foot)-8, 6-9 kids, but we have a lot of big, strong kids,” said EL coach Mike Adams. “We should dominate the paint. But we’ve got to do a better job defensively.”

Elliot Swan punctuated the Eagles’ final push with his only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer that halved EL’s lead to 58-55 with 3:54 remaining.

Nine seconds later, Philbrook drained two free throws to trigger his own run of eight unanswered points. Philbrook’s put-back of a Therriault miss ignited a traditional 3-point play with 3:14 left.

Philbrook cashed in an long outlet pass from Therriault to apply the exclamation point with another hoop-and-harm. That runaway deuce and subsequent free throw gave EL its first double-digit lead of the night.

“We got the jitters out. I think we’ll overcome it,” Philbrook said. “The caliber of our team definitely got to them.”

Sean Daigle added nine points and nine rebounds for EL. Tyler Gammon ignited the Eddies’ new-look backcourt with six points and six thefts.

Dominique Bailey, Shane Ciriello and Bo Leary helped the Eddies’ bench outscore the Eagles’ reinforcements by a 16-7 margin.

“We thought that we were farther along than we actually are. I don’t feel like the top team right now,” Adams said. “They played very well, no question about that, and that’s what we’ll get all season long. Our guys have to be ready for that. There’s a lot we have to do to improve. I think we have the character kids who will be willing to put that time in.”