RUMFORD — The reality is that Dirigo is never at a standstill, but the Cougars were pushed to the brink Saturday night in a rivalry boys’ basketball game.

A pair of free throws by T.J. Frost with 17 seconds left proved to be the difference as the Cougars remained unbeaten by holding off Mountain Valley 55-54 before a noisy crowd at Puiia Gymnasium.

This was a rematch between the neighboring teams, and the Falcons devised a plan to slow down top-ranked Dirigo (12-0).

The plan nearly served its purpose, but turnovers down the stretch proved costly.

Cody St. Germain scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Dirigo’s 58-50 win over Mountain Valley, last month on the same floor.

Mountain Valley, ranked No. 9 in Western Class B, tied the game at 52-52 on a pair of free throws by Jake Theriault (24 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals).

On the ensuing possession, Caleb Turner of Dirigo was fouled and made one of two free throws. Mountain Valley, who was playing for the third consecutive night, turned the ball over on its end of the court and the Cougars tried moving the ball around, but Frost was fouled by Zak Radcliffe.

“Coach had a shoot-around earlier, and I must have taken 30 free throws,” said Frost, who had eight points and three steals. “The team had played well, but I knew we were only up by two points and we didn’t want overtime. So, I stepped to the line and took a deep breath. It was my first free throws in the game.”

The Falcons’ Jake Theriault made a 3-pointer, with two seconds left for the final one-point margin.

“They are probably the best shooting team we’ll see,” Frost said. “The game got physical and the refs let a lot go, so we had to match-up against them.”

Mountain Valley had the ball in its end of the court with 30 seconds left, but turned the ball over on a backdoor pass.

“We was going to go for the last shot,” Mountain Valley coach Rick White said. “But, the kids were not reading each other on the backdoor pass. Still, this might be a loss, but it certainly gave Dirigo some thing to think about.”

Earlier in the fourth quarter, Dirigo took a double-digit lead on baskets by Cody St. Germain (16 points, six rebounds, three blocks), but the Falcons roared back with three straight 3-pointers — Radcliffe and two by Theriault.

“I can’t say enough about these kids,” White said. “They executed the game plan and we rebounded well. But, you can’t turn the ball over because Dirigo will make you pay by scoring or making free throws.”

Andrew Child (14 points) drained a trey to give the Falcons a 36-34 lead, but Dirigo responded. St. Germain scored, Mitch Stanley made two free throws and Frost buried a trey, during a 12-2 run scored to give Dirigo a 46-38 lead after three quarters.

Mountain Valley (6-5) received a strong effort by Milo Joudrey (eight rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Ryan Nicols added seven points. The Falcons shot up a steady dose of shots from beyond the arc, draining 10 in the game.

Ben Holmes scored 15 points and had nine rebounds for the Cougars, who made 16-of-20 free throws and committed 11 turnovers in the game. The Falcons were eight of nine from the line and had 18 turnovers.

“It’s a hard decision,” Dirigo coach Travis Magnusson said. “when to slow it down or when to push the ball. But, you have to credit Mountain Valley, they were shooting lights out with those three treys and came back on us.”