AUGUSTA — They scheduled a Mountain Valley Conference boys’ basketball championship Monday night at Augusta Civic Center.

Your basic McDonald’s All-Star Game broke out.

Long runs, big shots and one gigantic individual effort on each side provided the script for the two-hour highlight film. Boothbay landed the final haymaker, winning an 89-88, double-overtime classic over Dirigo.

Anthony Dimauro scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime for Boothbay, including the final five.

The six-foot sophomore guard swished the second of two free throws with 16.2 seconds remaining in the second OT to provide the game-winning point.

Dirigo had two subsequent opportunities to win it. Ben Holmes rebounded his own miss and called a timeout as he fell to the floor with three seconds left. The Cougars’ second try was a well-contested airball that fell fittingly into Dimauro’s hands at the horn.

The verdict put a slight damper on one of the greatest schoolboy performances in civic center history.

Cody St. Germain erupted for a career-high 44 points and 20 rebounds for Dirigo.

“I knew,” St. Germain said. “Somebody told me I had 40 before we went into overtime.”

No basket was bigger, though, than his tying shot to beat the buzzer in the first OT.

Dirigo called timeout after Dan Dickinson drained his second free throw to give Boothbay an 83-81 cushion with 2.4 seconds left.

Football quarterback Ben Holmes set up shop beyond the baseline, and Dirigo re-enacted Duke’s Grant Hill-to-Christian Laettner NCAA tournament theatrics of 1992.

Holmes heaved an 80-foot pass over the head of everyone except St. Germain, who dribbled to avert a late-arriving Boothbay defender and rattled in a six-foot prayer.

“That’s what (coach Rebecca Fletcher) told us in the huddle: ‘Run a Christian Laettner.’ I was behind the backboard, I’ll say that,” St. Germain said. “I didn’t know if it was going in.”

Fletcher’s timeout actually stopped the team from running the same play on the fly. Dirigo appeared to have Boothbay beaten that time, too.

“They didn’t make the first free throw, so I wanted to make sure Cody didn’t kick it out because we didn’t need (a 3-pointer),” she said. “Then I thought, ‘Oh, crap, we had it.’ When he put the ball on the floor (after the catch), I didn’t know if he’d have time.”

Another St. Germain basket produced the first of two lead changes in the second four-minute bonus stanza.

Boothbay avenged a 68-62 overtime loss on its home court in December.

Both teams are 16-3 and could meet again in 12 days. Dirigo is the No. 1 seed in the Western Class C tournament and seeks its third straight regional title. Boothbay is ranked No. 2.

Dimauro added six assists and four steals, including a huge theft in the final 90 seconds of the second extra session.

All five Boothbay starters and four of Dirigo’s scored in double digits.

Dickinson had 13 points and four steals for Boothbay. Jake Simmons and Chad Carroll each chipped in 11 points. Jordan Caron contributed 10. Boothbay prevailed despite losing Carroll and Caron to fouls in the first OT.

Spencer Ross racked up 12 points on four 3-pointers for Dirigo. He nailed one to cap the opening possession of OT No. 1 and tied the game at 88 with his bomb at the 57-second mark of OT No. 2.

“It was pretty intense the whole game,” Ross said. “I don’t think either team wanted to show any of the plays we usually run.”

“I don’t think either team ran a (set) play all night,” echoed St. Germain.

St. Germain also rallied Dirigo at the end of regulation.

Caleb Turner’s 3-point play trimmed a five-point Dirigo deficit to two, 70-68, with 1:22 left.

DiMauro made it a four-point edge with two free throws before St. Germain answered with a hook shot. Ross’ steal set the table for St. Germain’s tying free throws with 34.6 seconds on the clock.

Travis Frost blocked Dickinson’s shot from the top of the key at the buzzer, keeping the game tied at 72.

Ross finished with eight assists for Dirigo. Holmes notched 14 points and 11 rebounds. Turner turned in 12 points and five assists.

Answers were few and far between for either defense in the first half. Boothbay couldn’t deal with St. Germain and Holmes down low. Dirigo did little to counter the Seahawks’ quickness and drive-and-dish activities.

“We had trouble in the first game against them with their dribble penetration, also,” Fletcher said. “That’s not what we want to do.”

Dirigo led 20-17 at the end of the first quarter before Boothbay surged to a 39-36 halftime lead. The Cougars forged ahead 51-50 after three.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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