MONMOUTH — When you show up at the ballpark in the spring, you never know if it’s the day you’re going to see a no-hitter, a triple play or some other rarity.

Translate that to a toasty building in winter, and who knows? You might see a boys’ basketball team shut out its opponent for the final 13 minutes, 45 seconds.

If it sounds crazy, call Monmouth out of its mind. The Mustangs muzzled the Hall-Dale Bulldogs for that unthinkable window of time Wednesday, rallying from an eight-point deficit to walk out of Stu Foster Gym with a 32-25 upset win.

“I told those guys it’s my fourth year here, and I don’t know if I’ve been prouder of a group of guys, because that was lockdown defense,” Monmouth coach Lucas Turner said.

Monmouth (1-1) got into the win column two nights after being doubled up, 66-33, at Boothbay. Hall-Dale (2-1) previously beat Spruce Mountain and Wiscasset by double digits.

The Bulldogs led by seven, 22-15, when senior point guard Mike Woods left the game with a severe cut on the bridge of his nose early in the third quarter.

Sam Shepherd’s hook shot and conventional 3-point play made it 25-17 with 5:45 left in the period.

Hall-Dale never scored again, missing its final 18 field goal attempts and one front end of a 1-and-1. The Mustangs harassed the Bulldogs into 9-for-44 shooting and 14 turnovers, nine of those in the second half.

“There was no goofing off today,” Monmouth junior Brandon Goff said. “Everyone gave their full attention.”

Goff’s four steals sparked Monmouth’s defense. The Mustangs rotated Drew McFarren, Marcques Houston, Kasey Smith and Nick Tozier — all 6-foot-3 or taller — against Hall-Dale big man Shepherd, holding him to five points.

Smith led Monmouth with 12 points. He’s the lone sophomore on a squad that returns 10 players from last year’s 3-15 struggles.

“We have more height, more skill and more effort,” Smith said.

Billy Cummings added 11 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer — his third of the night — on the opening possession of the fourth quarter.

McFarren hit a hook shot after offensive boards by Tozier and Goff kept a possession alive with 5:15 to go.

That was Monmouth’s final field goal. Goff and Cummings combined to hit three of four from the line in the final 38 seconds to ice it.

“I was asking what the halftime score was, because we weren’t even running a delay,” Turner said of the shutout streak. “The first timeout I called, we just said be careful, and if there’s an open jumper you’d better make it. Then all of a sudden I looked up and there was a minute-thirty left.”

Woods led Hall-Dale with eight points, including back-to-back baskets off his own steals in the third. He was injured by an inadvertent elbow on the second play.

After a five-minute delay to scrub blood from the floor, Smith hit an open jumper to ignite the Mustangs. He scored again on a nifty feed from Goff.

Cummings’ 3-pointer and Goff’s steal and transition layup pulled Monmouth within one, 25-24, with eight minutes to play.

The effort at both ends was a far cry from Monday night’s journey to the coast.

“We got off the bus and Boothbay beat us. I was little worried about some of the old habits from last year,” Turner said. “But (Tuesday) we had a great day of practice. We didn’t even talk about Hall-Dale.”

“It wasn’t really game prep,” Goff said. “It was more about hustling and staying down on defense.”

Mission accomplished, to near perfection.

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