AUGUSTA – Surreal, unbelievable and, above all, down right deflating.

There are tough starts, and then there is the one the Hall-Dale boys’ basketball endured Thursday night in a 90-31 drubbing at the hands of Dirigo in a Western Class C semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Cougars put on a jaw-dropping performance in the opening eight minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs 30-7.

And that was more than enough for the defending regional champs to advance.

“It was brutal,” Hall-Dale Coach Jim Patrick said. “Dirigo definitely came ready to play. Our kids were a little bit timid because of our first matchup with them. But Dirigo is definitely the real thing.”

Cody St. Germain scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds to pace Dirigo, which beat Hall-Dale 71-42 in the regular season.

Caleb Turner scored 15 points, while Josh Turbide and Ben Holmes each added 13 for the Cougars, who will meet Old Orchard Beach in the regional final at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

Ben Crocker scored eight points and Mike Woods added five to lead No. 4 Hall-Dale (13-7).

Dirigo put this one away in a hurry.

The Cougars led 26-1 before Hall-Dale scored its first field goal, a short jumper by Harry Cheung with 1:26 left in the first quarter.

Dirigo made four 3-pointers in the opening six minutes, including two from Turbide. The Cougars also forced 11 Hall-Dale turnovers in the quarter, with seven leading to easy baskets.

“It got away in a hurry,” Patrick said. “We wanted to slow things down. We wanted to play a slow game. My kids had a hard time adjusting because we played a fast game throughout the season.”

With Dirigo already up 6-1 just a minute and a half into the game, Turbide and Turner each scored layups off steals.

St. Germain, who found his shot early and often, added six points in the opening run.

The Bulldogs missed their first nine shots. They made just four field goals in the first half, and things didn’t get much better in the second.

St. Germain had three consecutive baskets to open the third quarter as the Cougars showed no signs of letting up. The lead swelled to 67-22 midway through the third before both teams started substituting freely.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Patrick said. “We had a good season.”

Bill Stewart – 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com