DIXFIELD  — Tyler Chiasson scored 17 points as Dirigo received a balanced offensive attack and pulled away in the second half for a 72-58 win against Mt. Abram in a season-opening Mountain Valley Conference boys’ basketball game Friday night.

The Cougars’ up-tempo offense created havoc both on offense and defense, which included missing their 19 shots in the first quarter and being held without a field goal until Eric Bolduc made a basket with five minutes remaining in the first half. The defense forced 31 turnovers and scored several transition layups led by Tyler Gates (16 points, seven steals) and Chiasson (nine rebounds, five steals).

“This is really our first game,” Gates said. “We didn’t have any scrimmages during preseason because we had to wait for the football players to return. Finally in the second half we handled the situations better.”

Mt. Abram pulled to within 54-48 on a trey by Jim Barker with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter. Barker, a senior, scored a game-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers.

Dirigo regained its composure and scored three baskets in 25 seconds to lead by double digits. Nic Crutchfield (11 points) scored on a 15-foot jumper and Gates scored twice off steals. The Cougars scored 54 points in the last 17 minutes.

“Once we started hitting our shots the momentum shifted,” Bolduc said. “We came out in the second half and worked hard, worked together as a team.”

Dirigo scored 10-unanswered points to open the third quarter. Kyle Hutchinson made two free throws and scored on an offensive rebound to give the Cougars a 3-23 lead. Mt. Abram stopped the bleeding on a Tyler Hopper basket, 4:12 left in the third quarter.

Mt. Abram led 19-13 following a bunny by Hopper (six points, 12 rebounds) midway through the second quarter. The Roadrunners shot 54 percent in the first half, but four starters had three fouls each before halftime.
Dirigo shot 41 percent from the floor and committed 13 turnovers in the game. This included 14 of 26 free throws in the first half. The Cougars scored 10 of 12 points in the last minute of the first half to lead 28-23 at halftime.

Bolduc scored twice off steals and Chiasson and Gates each added baskets. Cody St. Germain had key rebounds and a pair of baskets.

“A win is a win,” Dirigo coach Dave Gerrish said. “But you have to give Mt. Abram credit because they made baskets and we didn’t. We’ll learn from this and go back to practice. There’s a long way to go.”