AUGUSTA — Dirigo read the box scores and scouting reports about Winthrop’s Jacob Hickey.

Six 3-pointers and 26 points at Monmouth. Ten triples and 41 points against Lisbon. There was no way Hickey would be allowed to take that many shots on Wednesday night Augusta Civic Center without the MVC’s chief defensive stopper, Gavin Arsenault, in his grill.

“I just knew he was a great player,” Arsenault said. “Coach (Travis Magnusson) said face guard him the whole game.”

With assistance off the bench from freshman Alex Gorham, Arsenault held Hickey to one point — a free throw with one second remaining in the third quarter — and the Cougars rolled, 55-44, in a battle of unbeaten Class C South clubs.

Riley Robinson delivered 17 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out for Dirigo (7-0). Arsenault added 13 points and six assists, while Clay Swett chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

“Gavin worked so hard defensively and he still scored 13 points, which I think is his second-highest of the year, too, so he just played an all-around great game,” Magnusson said.

Anthony Owens led Winthrop (6-1) with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Bennett Brooks contributed eight points and eight rebounds.

“Our leading scorer didn’t have a good night, so it took while for other kids to realize, ‘We’ve got to pick up the slack here.’ The nice thing is that they kind of did that in the fourth quarter,” Winthrop coach Todd MacArthur said. “I wish that had happened a little sooner.”

The contest was Dirigo’s half of the teams’ home-and-home series, played as part of Cony High School’s 21st annual Capital City Hoop Classic.

“It’s really good. It’s always a new team,” Magnusson said. “We’re missing 7 or 8 of the 14 guys that were on the team last year. It’s nice to see them play as well as they did here.”

Dirigo never trailed after surging to a 10-1 lead. Winthrop clawed back to a 12-12 tie with 4:55 remaining in the half before consecutive hoops by Arsenault, Gorham and Cooper Chiasson restored the Cougars’ comfort zone.

Owens and Nate Scott led the Ramblers’ charge early in the third period, with Owens’ inside bucket cutting the deficit to three, 29-26.

The Cougars countered with a 7-0 run in a little more than a minute on a Swett second-chance bucket, Arsenault’s fast break layup and a Robinson 3-point play. Luke Lueders set up the latter two conversions as Dirigo picked up the pace with Winthrop’s help.

“The biggest thing was when they pressured us, we scored and got layups,” Magnusson said. “Until the fourth quarter the last five minutes, (the lead) went from 3 to 21 with their pressure. I always tell our kids, if they’re going to press us, make ’em pay, and we definitely did that.”

Dirigo shot 20-for-39 (51 percent) from the field while harassing Winthrop into 18-for-58 (31 percent) shooting. The Ramblers did not hit a 3-point basket.

“They did a great job on (Hickey). Gavin really did a great job face guarding him and taking away space. We kind of anticipated that, but collectively we didn’t adjust to it,” MacArthur said. “We did a very poor job in our transition (defense). I think early on we both kind of struggled offensively, but their transition was the difference. They had more transition points in the third quarter and more defensive stops.”

Chiasson (six points, nine rebounds), Lueders (four points, five assists) and Gorham excelled in their longest stints to date on a floor that Dirigo has long considered its second home.

“Young guys came up big tonight like Chiasson and Lueders,” Arsenault said. “We just ran the floor really well and were making buckets.”

Robinson scored nine of his 17 points in the third quarter.

Swett added six in that stanza. Gavin Hebert also nailed a 3-pointer, helping Dirigo increase its lead to 47-31.

“Riley has a lot of poise. He scored 17 (a season low), but he made a lot of plays for us,” Magnusson said. “We were just so solid with the ball. Until the fourth quarter it seemed like we hardly had any turnovers. We had some good takes to the hoop.”

koakes@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link