BETHEL — In this year of rampant upsets and near-upsets from top-to-bottom in Western Class C boys’ basketball, Telstar’s tournament invitation still falls into the check-is-in-the-mail category.

Given a precious opportunity to seal their spot at the playoff buffet table, the Rebels instead went home hungry after a 58-44 MVC loss Thursday night to Wiscasset.

It was a dead giveaway. Telstar (10-6) led by four at halftime and doubled that advantage with the first two baskets of the third quarter.

Then it was all Wiscasset (12-3), which couldn’t seem to miss while the Rebels watched first, second, third and fourth-opportunity shots rattle off the rim from close range.

“We missed a ton of layups. Layups and free throws,” Telstar coach Mark Thurlow said. “And (Wiscasset) shot the ball well.”

To near perfection, actually, after getting a sluggish first half out of its system. Wiscasset went 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the field in the second half and drained 9-of-10 free throws in the final 1:24.

Jordan Jones scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half for Wiscasset, including three 3-pointers.

Otherwise, Wiscasset worked the ball inside for a flurry of high-percentage shots. Noticeably out-sized and badly out-rebounded, the No. 2 team in Western C compensated with full-court, man-to-man pressure that gave the Rebels headaches after intermission.

“We have a lot of good guards, and our big men are quick, so that’s how we do it,” Jones said. “We came out with intensity. In the first half they were tougher than we were. We had to come out in the second half and show that we were tougher.”

Ashton Benn added 13 points for Wiscasset. Dan Murphy provided 11 points off the bench. Mason Brewer bolstered the defense with four steals.

Corey Howard topped Telstar with 13 points. Ben Field chalked up 10 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Rebels to a 51-27 advantage on the boards.

Some of that was a reflection of Telstar’s offensive woes (20-for-75).

“We knew we had that advantage on them,” Thurlow said. “We didn’t handle their pressure very well, or not as well as we have been. It was full man. It’s not like it was a zone press.”

Telstar led 8-0 out of the gate. Danny Whitney and Howard scored back-to-back buckets to restore that eight-point edge, 28-20, at the start of the second half.

Wiscasset rattled off the next 15 points in a span of just over three minutes.

Jones’ 3-pointer and a steal and layup by Brewer cut Telstar’s lead to one. Then Jones’ steal led to a extended possession that concluded with his second trey, putting Wiscasset in front for good.

The comeback was nothing new for Wiscasset, which also has survived scares from Telstar’s fellow tournament bubble teams Jay and St. Dom’s.

“It was big for us,” Jones said. “We want to make it to the Mountain Valley Conference championship, and these guys are the first step to that.”

Wiscasset leads coastal rival Boothbay and Monmouth in the race to win the southern division and face either Mountain Valley or Dirigo in the MVC exhibition.

Telstar, meanwhile, needs a signature win to end a seven-year tournament drought. Ranked above the cutoff line all season, have fallen into the race for eighth through 10th and are in danger of facing a road game in the preliminary round, or worse.

“We want to get it. I don’t want it for me,” Thurlow said. “I want to get it for them. They’ve put a lot into it, these seniors. They really, really have.”

Daniel Vaughn finished with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for Telstar. Whitney chipped in eight points and nine boards.

Telstar got as close as four, 39-35, on Vaughn’s 3-pointer with 6:28 left. Wiscasset answered with another Jones 3-pointer and six points down low from Murphy in a 9-2 surge. Jones was 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch.

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