BETHEL — Lisbon and Telstar flirted with monumental upsets in the opening week of the MVC boys’ basketball season.

Their collision on Monday night was a chance for each club to prove it is near the front of that second tier after Dirigo, Winthrop and Wiscasset. The Greyhounds, currently No. 5 in Class B South, delivered that statement by closing out a 59-47 road win over the Rebels.

Lisbon (4-3) let multiple leads of six to eight points slip away. Telstar (2-5) took over twice in the second half before the Greyhounds buckled down with a furious finishing kick at both ends of the floor.

“We wish we could have come stronger against Wiscasset, Dirigo and Winthrop,” Lisbon senior point guard Noah Carter said. “We didn’t execute and make our shots. We did that tonight. This is a big win for us to get back on our feet.”

Jonah Sautter and Tyrese Joseph finished with 17 points apiece for Lisbon. Sautter sank three of his four 3-pointers in the second half, while Joseph matched Josh Huston with a team-high nine rebounds. Carter scored eight of his 16 points in the second half for go with seven assists.

Telstar forged ahead 38-37 on two Tanner Wheeler free throws to end its initial possession of the fourth quarter, but Lisbon’s 1-3-1 zone made every shot an adventure when the clock was moving. The Rebels shot 2-for-16 in the final period and 14-of-64 (22 percent) overall.

Jarrett Bean led the Rebels with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Wheeler and Jeremiah Richardson registered nine points each.

“The game plan was for us to get out and run,” Telstar coach Mike Pelletier said. “I knew they play a 1-3-1. We struggle with execution against zones. We like to get out and play, and if our shots don’t fall, we’re going to struggle.”

Sautter nailed an open 3-pointer from the right corner to give Lisbon the lead for keeps with 6:51 remaining. Carter added consecutive hoops to extend the run, the first courtesy of a baseline drive and the latter set up by Huston’s long rebound and outlet pass.

Telstar cut it back to two, 45-43, on a Zachary Stone 3-pointer with 4:43 to go. Carter quickly found Troy Galarneau for an inside bucket in response.

Lisbon struggled intermittently from the free-throw line, but Sautter, Carter and Huston shot a combined 8-for-12 down the stretch to seal the victory.

“Jonah wasn’t hitting very well in the beginning, but he found his stroke a little better. We made some free throws at the end with Noah. And I thought the last two minutes we rebounded pretty well,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said.

The Greyhounds jumped out to a 10-2 lead on the shoulders of Huston and Joseph before the Rebels string together six unanswered.

“We like to play a read-react offense. We don’t practice (against zone) a lot, because we don’t like to play that way,” Pelletier said. “Some layups didn’t fall early. Some 3s didn’t fall early. I think if we could have gotten the lead early, it might have been a different story.”

Lisbon twice restored a six-point lead in the second period, but Bean’s traditional 3-point play with one second left cut it in half, 23-20.

Wheeler, Richardson and Avry Griffin each rained down a 3-pointer in the second period.

“It was us not getting to the far corner. We had a late rotation, and we just couldn’t stop them from shooting the 3. We did that a little better especially in the second half,” Carter said. “The 1-3-1 works for us. When we can really execute it and get to the corners fast enough, it works for the most part.”

Sautter’s 3-pointer made it 35-28 in the third, only to see Telstar storm back with an 8-0 run to secure its initial lead.

Blake Rothwell sank four consecutive free throws. Richardson and Bean collected layups via the offensive glass. Wheeler and Bean each made a steal during the run.

“Telstar plays hard all the time. Very tough, very intense. They’re well-coached and they get everything out of it,” Gentle said. “Half of (losing the leads) was our own problem and half of that definitely is what Telstar was doing, picking up the intensity and forcing us to do some things we didn’t want to do.”

Lucas Francis’ steal led to a Carter basket that gave Lisbon a 37-36 lead at the end of three.

Turnovers were relatively few, in part because neither team was shy about launching any open shot that made itself available. Lisbon’s overtime loss to Dirigo and Telstar’s two-point verdict against Wiscasset, each an undefeated foe, leaves each side confident that the January and February ceiling is high.

“They still play not to lose. We’re trying to take all that fear out of them. Win, lose or draw, just have fun and play,” Pelletier said. “I think part of it with having no seniors is they say ‘There’s always next year,’ and they’re holding back. We’re trying to show them we’re good enough to compete now.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

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