DIXFIELD – Dirigo continues to see everyone’s best effort in the Mountain Valley Conference, but the undefeated Cougars just keep winning.

Tom Knight recorded his third straight double-double, scoring a game high 22 points and hauling down 14 rebounds along with four blocked shots as the Cougars clawed out a 49-35 triumph over Livermore Falls.

Dirigo (11-0) was never challenged after utilizing its running style and defensive pressure to build a double-digit lead. Knight scored 18 points on high-percentage baskets in the second and third quarters.

Tyler Chiasson finished with 12 points and was effective distributing the ball with six assists.

“Last week’s games were close,” Dirigo junior guard Eric Bolduc said. “We need to come out and play strong. I think we were able to do that in the second half. But we also can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

The Cougars are still riding an emotional high after having downed Mountain Valley and Boothbay on successive nights last week.

Bolduc began the third quarter by scoring a driving basket. Knight scored five of the next six buckets, twice on dunks, to make it a 41-17 margin.

“There’s been a lot of hype about our team,” said Cougars forward Nic Crutchfield, who added six points and nine rebounds. “So there is a little pressure on us to perform up to expectations. We can’t afford to get sloppy.”

Livermore Falls (5-6) missed 21-of-22 shots in the middle frames. They were held without a field goal from late in the first quarter until Nate Michaud (eight points) buried a 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the third quarter.

“We didn’t attack the basket,” said Livermore Falls coach Travis Magnusson, whose Andies shot 23 percent from the field. “We were aggressive in the first quarter, but not in the second half. I think they were intimidated by (6-feot-9) Knight in the middle.”

Livermore Falls guard Chandler White finished with 13 points, held in check by Bolduc’s defensive effort. Tom Ventrella added eight points.

The Dirigo defense forced 18 turnovers. Aaron Fenstermacher. Tyler Gates, Tristan Franchetti, Kyle Hutchinson and Spencer Ross gave the Cougars a big lift off the bench.

Dirigo coach Gavin Kane found plenty of areas for the Cougars to work on, however.

“After a good third quarter that gave us a good lead, we let down in the fourth quarter,” said Kane. “We got careless with the ball and lost our focus.”