The Cougars (5-5) weathered a 22-point first quarter by the Tigers (3-6) and then finished with a strong fourth quarter to notch the victory in a back-and-forth skirmish in Gardiner.

Mt. Blue fell behind 22-14 after one quarter then bounced back and took a 32-20 lead into halftime. Gardiner responded in the third and led by one point heading in the fourth. The Cougars closed out the game by outscoring the Tigers 17-8 in the final eight minutes.

Mt. Blue shot 19 of 26 at the free-throw line. Zach Poisson (game-high 17 points) went 5 for 6 at the charity stripe, Chandler Briggs (14 points) was 5 for 7 and Jayden Meader (nine points) was 4 for 4.

Kalvin Catchings and Ryan Moore each scored 16 points for Gardiner.