GORHAM – The Cheverus boys basketball team ran its record to 2-0 on Monday night at the expense of the Gorham Rams as the Stags dropped the Rams to 0-2 with a 72-37 rout.

After suffering an opening night loss to rival Scarborough on Saturday, the road didn’t get any easier for Gorham. On Dec. 12, the Rams traveled to Cheverus to take on a Stag team determined to make it back to the state tournament and raise a championship trophy.

The Stags were led by Louie Distasio, who is considered by many to be one of the best players in the state, and he didn’t disappoint. Distasio opened up the season with a 20-point effort against Biddeford and followed that performance up with an electrifying 17-point effort in the win over the Rams.

Gorham Coach Ryan Chicoine said his team had trouble from the beginning. “We came out flat and our intensity just wasn’t there,” he said.

To say the Rams came out flat was an understatement.

Before the Rams were able to settle into any offensive tempo, the Stags had already jumped out to a 16-0 lead. By the end of the first quarter the score was 27-6, leaving the Rams in an insurmountable hole.

Distasio and Cam Olson combined for 14 of Cheverus’ 27 first-quarter points. Distasio tallied eight of his 17 points in the first quarter to outscore the Rams by himself.

Gorham was hurt early on not by the hot shooting by the Stags, but by the their inability to create any separation on the offensive end and the Stags’ tenacious defense and physical rebounding.

The Stags generated the majority of their first half points in their transition game, which was a direct result of their defense. The Stags took advantage of their size down low with Drew Ferrick crashing the boards while Distasio and James Kapothanasis worked franticly to create turnovers in an attempt to spring their fast break into action.

Despite trying to calm his team down and slow the tempo of the game, Chicoine’s use of his timeouts did not help Gorham settle in as the Stags starters physically overpowered the Rams.

The toll the frantic pace of the game was taking on the Rams was in evidence during the timeouts as it seemed the Gorham players were bent over at their waist in an attempt to catch their breath while on the Stags’ bench, all the players, including the starters, stood straight up waiting to retake the court.

One of Gorham’s biggest issues in the game was their communication at both ends of the court.

Throughout the first half, the Rams often allowed unguarded Stags to swoop in for costly offensive rebounds. Even when the Rams were able to pull down a defensive board, their offense became muddled as the Stags raced back to set up their half-court defense.

Chicoine said he told his team, “If one guy is on one page, and four guys are on another, it’s not going to work.”

While the Rams struggled, the Stags displayed the signs of a veteran team with championship aspirations as they always marked their man on defense and moved the ball with precision and ease on offense as they took a 43-14 lead into half.

The deficit reached its highest point midway through the third quarter when Gorham went down by 34 points. That’s when Cheverus coach Bob Brown turned to his bench to finish out the game.

While the Stags turned to their reserves, Chicoine chose not to concede defeat as he stuck with his starting rotation.

Chicoine’s decision paid off for Rams as they produced their best offensive effort in the fourth.

To the Rams’ credit, they bought into Chicoine’s message and started rebounding and generating open shots and easy layups in the Stags’ end. As the Rams’ confidence began to grow, shots began to fall.

Gorham’s Dan Holmes, who had been held scoreless for three quarters, hit three 3-pointers on his way to 11 fourth-quarter points. Holmes was joined by teammate Elliot Speirs, who added 10 points of his own, making them the only players to reach double digits for the Rams.

The Rams will look to bounce back from the loss on Thursday night when they travel to Sanford (0-1) to take on the Redskins at 7 p.m.