Brunswick’s Brendan Shaw (10) closes in on Fryeburg’s Andre DiMolfetta (3) during Friday’s season opener. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

BRUNSWICK — Head coach Dan Thomas didn’t tell his Fryeburg boys’ basketball team that they needed to wake up at 6 a.m. to do offseason conditioning, but after a season-opening win over Brunswick, he’s sure glad they did.

“It showed you that these guys were not tired in the fourth,” Thomas said. “I think that’s what gave us the edge down the stretch, and I think that’s going to lead us a long way.”

The visiting Raiders held a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but two 3-pointers quickly opened a gap on their way to a 50-44 victory. Three players hit double-digits for Fryeburg, paced by senior guard Bojan Bundovski with 17 points.

“We’re just ready to kill,” senior forward Hugo Cantalejo Delgado said. “I mean, it can sound bad, but we’re just with the energy 100%. On the bus, we were all locked in, then we went to the locker room and we’re all with the energy 100%.”

Cantalejo Delgado finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

The Dragons did not start the game locked in, turning the ball over on four straight possessions as they faced a 14-2 deficit after the first four minutes. Following a timeout and a switch from man to zone defense, Brunswick held Fryeburg scoreless for close to seven minutes.

The offense started clicking, as rebounds turned into points and Brunswick started forcing turnovers of its own. By halftime, the game was all knotted at 21.

“We had a thought maybe they’d go zone, but we weren’t sure, so we didn’t work on it as much as we probably should have,” Thomas said. “So that’s where that second quarter lull really came. We were driving it into the zone, we’re doing exactly what they wanted us to. And at halftime, I raised my voice for the first time all year, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, and I just told them to be patient.”

Fryeburg’s constant ball movement was eventually rewarded with numerous looks beyond the arc. The Raiders sank five second-half 3-pointers and eight in total. Bundovski and senior guard Jagger Helwig (13 points, three rebounds, steal, block) each made three.

Brunswick Coach Ben Clark was pleased with his team’s zone defense, but less pleased with the fact he had to break it out so early.

“Part of (Fryeburg’s eight 3-pointers) was we had some bad closeouts, and part of that was good offense on their part,” Clark said. “Teams are going to make 3s, and the difference in the game for me was we missed 10 free throws, we had 15 turnovers, and it was still a six-point game. So, if we clean up some of our mistakes, and we just need to clean up a few of our mistakes, you know. I think, again, it comes down to six minutes of that game where we were really outplayed, and that’s the margin of error for us.”

Junior guard Brendan Shaw led the Dragons with 15 points while adding three assists and three steals. Senior forward Trevor Gerrish scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore Rylan Ley had a team-high eight rebounds.

Neither Clark nor Thomas are too worried about the mental mistakes their teams exhibited, attributing them to first-game jitters.

Cantalejo Delgado, from Spain, and Bundovski, from Macedonia, both elected to stay in Maine during Thanksgiving break in order to stay close to the rest of the team.

“We came here for this opportunity and we’re hoping it’s gonna pay off at the end of the day,” Bundovski said. “So we’re just gonna put the work in and see what’s gonna happen.”