Cougars boys roll over Falcons

RUMFORD -- The Dirigo and Mountain Valley boys basketball teams are always eager to play each other.

Robbie Babb scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half as the Cougars remained composed in a 71-39 win against Mountain Valley on senior night in a regular-season finale at Puiia Gymnasium.

Class C Dirigo (17-1) had beat the rival Falcons in Dixfield last month.

The score had been tied or changed sides seven times in first quarter, but Dirigo opened a gap with a 9-0 run in second quarter. Kaine Hutchins (10 points, seven rebounds) started the surge with a basket and three pointer, Babb hit from in the lane and TJ Frost stole the ball and passed to Hunter Ross for a fast break layup to lead 28-16.

"We came out with a lot of energy tonight," said Hutchins. "Coach had told us the game wasn't important, but we wanted to finish 17-1, the fifth in school history, like Tom Knight's team.''

Class B Mountain Valley (12-6) have struggled early in previous games down the stretch. However, it was confident playing the Cougars on a larger court would be an advantage. The Falcons were led by Jake Theriault (20 points, two treys) but there wasn't much support.

“Depth has been a key for us all year," said Dirigo coach Travis Magnusson. “We can go 10 deep and I think we was able to wear them down. Plus, I thought Hunter Ross did a great job defending Jake Theriault.''

Dirigo, ranked third in Class C, had jumped out of the gate on fire, scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the third quarter to lead 41-22. The pressure defense forced eight turnovers and the Cougars made nine of 10 free throws, four by Riley Robinson.

MV was held scoreless, until Milo Jodrey put back an offensive rebound midway through the quarter. Sean Murphy and Adam Volkernick scored six and five points, respectively.

“I'm 95 percent sure we'll be seeded fourth and avoid a prelim,” said Mountain Valley coach Tom Danylik prior to the game.

Dirigo switched gears in the second quarter, scoring points, to surge ahead with a 30-20 lead at halftime. Tyler Frost added 10 points. Mountain Valley shot 33 percent and made four of eight free throws. The Cougars shot 50 percent and made 18 of 23 from the charity stripe.

''The team keeps improving and from a coaches perspective, that is what you want to see,'' said Magnusson. ''I don't feel the score is indicative of the play because Mountain Valley is a good team.’’