Finn Harkins did his best to give Boothbay a come-from-behind win over the visiting Dirigo Cougars but the Seahawks fell one point short, losing 53-52, on Wednesday night, Jan. 17.

Harkins, a senior, scored 14 of Boothbay’s 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Seahawks closed to within a single point, 47-46, with just under four minutes to play. Both teams had trouble scoring the rest of the way and some key free throws by Dirigo in the last minute sealed its victory.

For two minutes, the score remained at 50-48. In the final minute, Dirigo’s Nathaniel Wainwright increased the Cougars’ lead to 52-48 by connecting on two free throws with just 31 seconds to play.

Boothbay lost the ball on a turnover but Boothbay got the ball back and Simeon Bates was fouled. He made the first free throw (making it 52-49) and intentionally missed the second so Boothbay could possibly have another possession. Dirigo got the ball, however, and Trevor Crosby hit one of two free throws to give Dirigo a four-point lead with 11.5 seconds to play.

Harkins hit a 3-pointer with three seconds to play for the final score as the clock ran to zero with Dirigo not entering the ball from the endline.

Harkins led all scorers with 31 points (three 3-pointers). Tyson French added nine and Braden Davis five for Boothbay.

Brady Philbrick led Dirigo with 13 points, followed by Wainwright with 10 and Travis Wright with nine.

The game looked to be one-sided for the visitors as they outscored Boothbay 19-6 after eight minutes but the Seahawks managed to only trail by 10, 31-21, at the half. Going into the fourth quarter, Dirigo held an eight-point lead, 45-37.

The loss dropped Boothbay’s record to 3-10 while Dirigo’s win gave it a 7-2 record.

As of Thursday morning, the Seahawks were seeded in 15th place in Class C South and Dirigo was seeded in fourth place, according to the latest Heal point standings.