FARMINGTON — After building a 23-point halftime lead, Messalonskee rattled off 10 straight points to start the third quarter to cement a 77-26 win over Mt. Blue in a Class A North boys’ basketball game on Tuesday night.

Mt. Blue (0-6) jumped out to an early 8-4 lead before Messalonskee (4-2) settled in, frustrating the Cougars with a powerful inside game. Six-foot-five Eagles’ center James Lathrop dominated the paint, scoring 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.

“We got off to a great start, then turnovers, and Lathrop took over,” Mt. Blue coach Kevin Main said. “Lathrop was a tough matchup for us.”

Zack Mittelstadt hit 5 of 6 shots in the first quarter to fuel the Cougars’ fast start. Mittelstadt’s foul line jumper gave Mt. Blue the four-point lead with 5:43 left in the quarter.

Messalonskee, however, went on a 15-4 run to end the quarter with a 19-12 advantage.

“Once we settled into the game, we were able to play the style of basketball we wanted to play,” Messalonskee coach Peter McLaughlin said. “Offensively we ran the court well and got our inside game working.”

The Eagles played defense, too, holding Mt. Blue to 28 percent shooting from the floor (12-of-43) while forcing the Cougars into 30 turnovers.

Messalonskee finished the game shooting 57 percent, hitting 29 of 51 shots. Lathrop, featuring quality power moves inside, made 9 of 16, including a pair of long range jumpers, and converted all six of his free throws.

Guard Nathan Violette joined Lathrop, hitting three straight drives to the basket in the first quarter. He finished the game with 14 points.

“Lathrop and Violette were strong for us,” McLaughlin said. “They formed a good combination in the first half.”

A quick Messalonskee defensive change in the early stages of the game helped shut down Mt. Blue’s offense. McLaughlin sent 5-foot-10 guard Kyle La Freniere to guard the 6-foot-3 Mittelstadt.

Mittelstadt missed five straight shots and didn’t score in the middle two periods while the Eagles ran away with the game. He finished with a team high 12 points.

“Kyle is a gutsy senior,” McLaughlin said. “We gave him help and pinched in on defense when we could, but what a great job by our guard.”

Messalonskee finished the game 15-for-21 from the free throw line, while the Cougars missed both their attempts.