Cougar boys dominate toothless Cobras

DIXFIELD -- The Dirigo boys' basketball team seized the momentum from the onset and played its own style in a 77-9 win against Carrabec in a home opening Mountain Valley Conference event at Defoe Gymnasium.

Juniors Josh Turbide and Cody St. Germain each scored in double figures again as the Cougars emptied their bench.

“In a game like this, we needed to work on our fundamentals,” said Turbide. “We needed to keep moving the ball and like the coaches tell us to treat every game like it’s our last and be prepared for any situation.”

Dirigo assumed control and scored the first 24 points in the opening six minutes of the game. Carrabec was in a zone in an attempt to slow the pace of the game, but the ball-hawking Cougars created a turnover on nearly every possession. Turbide drained a three-point shot for a 9-0 lead, which opened up the underneath for high percentage shots by St. Germain (18 points, eight rebounds) and Ben Holmes.

Turbide (11 points, six steals, four assists) and Caleb Turner played stout defense.

“We were able to get things going right away,” said Turner, who had five steals and four assists. “We had people in the passing lanes and that opened up other areas of the game for us.”

Carrabec’s Dylan Price scored eight.

“We still need to work on things on both ends of the court,” said first-year Dirigo coach Rebecca Fletcher. “Our (objective) is to play fundamentally sound and work together and communicate on the defensive end. We would like to (avoid) taking a risk and (pressure) will help force the other team into creating mistakes.’’

Jake Dowland (10 points) opened the second quarter with a basket on an inside drive, while Holmes and Turbide each scored. Arik Fenstermacher put back an offensive rebound and Mitch Stanley (eight points) scored for a 46-2 lead at halftime.

“Defensively, we needed to put pressure on the ball,” said Turner. “In a game like this, it is important to keep up our intensity because at times we pulled the ball out and didn’t attack.”

The Dirigo’s Robbie Babb and Nic Blodgett each scored in the paint. Hunter Ross added a reverse lay-up.The Cougars shot 63 percent, made free throws and had 10 turnovers.