FALMOUTH — David Halligan says his Falmouth High boys’ basketball team is still a work in progress.

But the defending Class A champions’ defense already appears to be in contending form. Falmouth improved to 3-0 Tuesday, beating Brunswick, 54-36.

The Yachtsmen held the Dragons to 25 percent shooting and shut them out for over eight minutes as they built an 11-point lead that extended to as many as 23 late in the fourth quarter.

“That was a great defensive effort by us,” Halligan said. “They had 31 at the end of the third quarter and they didn’t score again until our subs came in. They were communicating on defense, talking, and helping each other. Once we got into the game and got comfortable you could hear the talk pick up.”

“Our defense triggered our offense,” said Falmouth senior guard Colin Coyne, who led all scorers with 19 points. “We take great pride in our defense. We know we have players who are going to score points. If we stop guys then we’re going to come out with a win.”

The game was a rematch of the 2016 regional final, but both teams have very different starters.

Last season, Coyne shared the ball-handling duties and was the second scoring option alongside his older brother, Thomas (now playing at Bates). This year he’s fully in control of Falmouth’s offense.

Nikko DePatsy, a 6-foot-5 forward, scored 16 points. He hit two early 3s but his last two baskets came inside after clever Ben Simonds assists early in the fourth quarter. Last season DePatsy was on the junior varsity.

“I strive not to shoot from the 3-point line but if I’m open I’ll take it,” DePatsy said. “I’m much more of a threat in the lower paint.”

Sean Walsh (7 points), Ben Simonds, Michael Simonds and Jack Bryant also chipped in on offense in the second half.

“Once we got back into our rhythm and got the ball to the open man it made it hard for them to defend us,” Halligan said. “Obviously they were concentrating on Colin but he was finding the open men and people were moving without the ball to get open.”

Brunswick slipped to 2-2 with its second straight loss. Josh Dorr led the Dragons with 10 points, eight in the first quarter.

“I really liked how hard we played but playing hard against upper echelon teams isn’t enough,” said Dragons Coach Todd Hanson. “We certainly have to execute better and part of that execution is making shots.”

Brunswick is also still adjusting after losing its top two scorers from a year ago. Plus, three starters – Jesse Devereaux, and forwards Corban Teel and Jackson Gordon – missed preseason time because they were key contributors to the state championship football team.

“I feel we still have a ways to go to get our legs under us and get our basketball sense,” Hanson said. “Unfortunately with the way the schedule is, with six games before Christmas, they make it very difficult.”

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