BETHEL — Telstar coach Mark Thurlow’s concern for his team’s energy level proved valid early and late in Thursday night’s MVC clash with Mt. Abram.

Fortunately for the Rebels, a burst of energy wrapped around the first and second quarters provided plenty of breathing room.

Telstar’s 18-0 run midway through the first half proved pivotal, as it held off the shorthanded yet resilient Roadrunners, 53-44.

Dan Whitney led all scorers with 19 points, five rebounds and five steals while Dom Haines added 12 points and five steals for the Rebels (5-6). Ian James led the Roadrunners (2-9)  with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Tyler Hupper chipped in with 12 points.

Less than 24 hours removed from a 56-34 win at Winthrop, the Rebels needed some time to find their legs at both ends of the floor.

“The start of the first quarter was the worst,” Whitney said.

Trailing 9-4 early, Telstar picked up its defensive pressure and started to attack Mt. Abram’s triangle-and-two defense, designed to harass Telstar’s backcourt of Whitney and Haines.

Whitney put the Rebels in front to stay with a 3-pointer that made it 13-11. He added a jumper as Telstar took a 15-11 lead after the end of the first period.

Whitney duplicated that feat to start the second quarter and Ricky James and Mike Del Duca added hoops as the Rebels extended to a 24-11 lead. Soloman Fast finally broke the string with a layup off a Telstar turnover with 6:23 left in the half.

“Every game, we usually put it together for a while. We want to play a full game. We just haven’t really played to our full potential yet,” said Telstar’s Corey Howard, who had eight points and six rebounds. “We know we can do it because we have something like that every game, where we really do jell and everything goes together.”

Mt. Abram was playing without starting senior point guard Robert Rivers (injury), so Telstar exploited the inexperienced backcourt with a full-court trap to force 13 turnovers in the first half.

“We dealt with the press with a sophomore and freshman playing guard,” Mt. Abram coach Trevis Knapp said. “We handled it well in the first quarter, but you could see when times got tough, you could tell we had freshmen and sophomores running the point. That’s fine. It’s a learning experience.”

Transition baskets off several of those turnovers helped Telstar make its first eight shots of the second quarter as the lead got as high as 17 on Nick Mills’ bucket. The Rebels finally had their first miss of the quarter with 2:33 left in the half and the Roadrunners were able to shave three points off the deficit by halftime.

Telstar sent cutters through the lane to combat Mt. Abram’s defense and upped the lead to 16 twice in the third quarter.

“We’d get the ball down on the baseline to Howard and tried to get (Drew) Wilson to cut through,” Thurlow said. “It worked a couple of times and then they stopped doing it.”

“Penetration was key,” Howard said. “We tried to keep moving guys around. If you can keep the defense moving, usually you can find an easy look eventually.”

Mt. Abram chipped away at the deficit and pulled within seven on Dylan Ireland’s 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining. The Roadrunners had a chance to get closer after a Telstar turnover, but Haines came up with a key steal and the Rebels stayed patient on offense, putting the game away with 1:36 remaining on a drive-and-dish from Whitney to Howard that provided the final winning margin.

While not packed with Heal Points, the win gives the Rebels some momentum as they try to strengthen their hold on one of the last few tournament slots in Western C.

“It’s going to be a scramble, five through 11,” said Thurlow, whose team has a key game Saturday with Madison.