AUGUSTA — They’re the two things, other than smothering defense and a rough shooting night, that can stop any top-ranked team at basketball tournament time.

Cold and flu.

Nobody’s really sure exactly what went through the Dirigo boys’ basketball locker room this past weekend. But Josh Turbide showed up Monday night looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost, and Cody St. Germain’s face didn’t flaunt much more color.

“We’ve had the flu off and on this year for whatever reason,” Dirigo coach Rebecca Fletcher said.

Yeah, well, those two played their usual role in making Livermore Falls queasy and unsteady on its feet, as well.

St. Germain scored 11 points and Turbide added 10 to lead balanced, No. 1 Dirigo past No. 8 Livermore Falls, 58-46, in a Western Class C quarterfinal at Augusta Civic Center.

Turbide tallied seven of his 10 in the second half. St. Germain scored all of his in the first half to go with nine rebounds.

Dirigo (17-2) committed only seven turnovers while forcing 19 and held unswervingly to its game plan — driving to the basket and challenging Livermore Falls’ Mike Armstrong, strength against strength.

The Cougars went 22-for-29 from the line. Armstrong fouled out with a game-high 18 points for the Andies (12-8).

“We definitely started off slow but got into it as it went on,” St. Germain said. “Taking care of the ball helped us a lot. It was a team effort collapsing down on him and everything.”

Livermore Falls stayed within two, 19-17, until late in the second quarter. Dirigo ended the half with seven straight points by St. Germain.

“We tried to delay a little bit. We had some foul trouble,” Livermore Falls coach Travis Magnusson said, “I wanted to try to get to the half only down by two, and they went on a little 7-0 run there. We took some bad shots, too.”

Dirigo extended that run to 14-0 at the start of the third. Caleb Turner scored after a steal and feed by Ross.

Turner then returned the favor to Ross, furnishing an open 3-pointer. Turbide added two free throws.

“Defensively we pride ourselves on jumping to the ball, getting the best position,” Turner said. “We knew what our game plan was. When we get up on them we think they get frustrated.”

The Cougars confounded the Andies with a 1-3-1 zone in the third quarter, overcoming their own cold snap to protect a 38-27 lead.

“It was definitely a key to come out strong in that quarter,” Ross said. “We shut them down, didn’t allow them to get the offensive boards they normally get.”

Turbide delivered a 3-point play in the first minute of the fourth. Later, he hit a 15-footer from the left corner.

Ben Holmes had seven of his nine points in the final stanza. Caleb Turner and Travis Frost (six points each) combined for seven free throws down the stretch.

“We talked at halftime about our lack of intensity in the game. I felt like we weren’t moving offensively,” Fletcher said. “The game was very stagnant. We were OK defensively, allowing 17 points. We just weren’t applying any pressure. Josh was a big part of that going after it aggressively.”

Hunter Brett, Mike Castonguay and Mike Anctil each scored seven points for the Andies. All three along with fellow starters Armstrong and Sam Chabot were seniors playing in their final game.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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