BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford Tigers boys basketball team got off to a hot start against the Kennebunk Rams Tuesday night, and although the Rams made it a close game, Biddeford’s relentless defense was too much as the Tigers prevailed with a 55-50 victory at Tiger Gymnasium.

“We started out good, we controlled the boards, we did all the things we’re looking to do,” Biddeford coach Mike Fecteau said.

It was the tale of two halves, as the Tigers controlled the first quarter with their full-court press backed up with tight man-to-man, halfcourt defense. With an up-tempo, fast-break style attack, Biddeford capitalized on Kennebunk’s slow start by breaking out to an early 15-5 lead.

But the Rams weren’t going away easily, and in the second quarter, their defense held the Tigers to only nine points, and their offense started to show signs of life. Led by senior forward Hank Lapham ”“ who had a game-high 18 points ”“ and junior guard Nate Gilbert, the Rams went on a 7-0 run to end the half.

Struggling from beyond the arc all night, Biddeford couldn’t get anything going offensively. And in the third quarter, the Rams looked like a completely different team.

“We just came out flat in the first half, that wasn’t us,” Kennebunk coach John Dube said after the game. Lapham continued his domination inside with offensive rebounds for easy putbacks, for which the Tigers did not have an answer. Forcing turnovers with their own full-court press, combined with steady play by junior point guard Tyler Elkington and Gilbert, the Rams controlled the quarter and trimmed the lead to 35-29.

The final quarter started out much like the third, with Kennebunk attacking Biddeford’s man-to-man defense. And with back-to-back buckets by Gilbert and Lapham, the Rams shaved the lead down to three points with 6:36 remaining in the game.

Senior tri-captains Nicholas Leblond and Cameron Nadeau both scored a team-high 16 points. With his defense, Leblond forced turnovers and created plays with his ability to run the floor. Coupled with Nadeau’s consistent scoring, they wore down the Rams’ defense and took back control of the game.

“That’s been the story of our whole year,” Dube said, referring to his team’s inconsistent play.

On back-to-back plays, Nadeau hit a deep 3 from the wing, and following a Kennebunk turnover, senior point guard Kyle Lagasse hit Leblond with a no-look pass in the lane for a fast-break layup, on which he was fouled. He converted the three-point play that put the Tigers up by seven. They never looked back and closed out the Rams for a hard-fought victory.

“We sat back a little, they attacked us; I told them before the fourth quarter to pick up the intensity we had in the first half,” Fecteau said.

It was senior night for the Biddeford players and cheerleaders, and seniors Patrick Wilson, Richard Drown, Matt Cote, Sam Methot, Ian Robinson, Matt Boynton and Lagasse all contributed to the win.  “We talked all season long about playing a full game and finishing, but it’s usually the first and fourth quarters that make or break us,” Leblond said.