FARMINGDALE — The scoreboard read good news. According to Hall-Dale boys basketball coach Chris Ranslow, that was about it for the positives.

The Bulldogs jumped in front and used a red-hot shooting performance in the second quarter to pull away, ending up with a 73-54 victory over Telstar in its season opener Saturday afternoon.

Ranslow, however, wasn’t impressed.

“I would give us a ‘D’ today,” he said. “I didn’t like much of what I saw, to be honest with you. Very, very disappointed. We couldn’t make free throws, we couldn’t guard anybody. … I’m almost embarrassed. That’s where I’m at right now.”

He wasn’t alone. His players weren’t jubilant, either.

“That’s everyone’s all-around feeling. A lot of things we can work on, a lot of things to work on,” said junior Ashtyn Abbott, who scored a game-high 25 points. “We left a lot of charges out there, left a lot of rebounds. But it’s always good to get a win to start the season off on a positive note.”

The Bulldogs never trailed, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and speeding away from the Rebels with a second quarter that turned a 16-13 lead into a comfortable 43-26 cushion. Still, the flaws were there. Hall-Dale struggled at the free throw line, got outrebounded 33-25 and bullied down low by Telstar forward Jarrett Bean (22 points, 18 rebounds) and followed up several Telstar turnovers forced by its full-court pressure with turnovers of its own.

“When we pressured well and we played five guys, we really created havoc for them. Unfortunately for our group, there were three guys and sometimes only two playing any defensive possession,” Ranslow said. “I don’t think we shot particularly well. We were 50 percent (from the free throw line). That’s unacceptable.”

The second quarter, however, was a different story. Hall-Dale hit 10 of its 14 shots, with one miss coming on a heave at the buzzer, and hit on everything from 3-pointers to fast-break baskets to jumpers and layups in traffic.

Telstar coach Mike Pelletier, whose team hit three 3-pointers of its own yet still was outscored 27-13 in the period, could only shrug his shoulders through much of the surge.

“Some of our best possessions tonight defensively, they scored on. I have no problem with that,” he said. “I just care about if we’re playing the right way, if we’re understanding help defense, basket line. And if they’re going to shoot and make shots, tip our hat to them.”

Abbott scored eight points in the quarter, while Jett Boyer had 11 of his 14 in the frame.

“That’s always good for us, because when we get started, we don’t stop,” said Abbott, who also led the team with eight rebounds. “It’s good when everyone gets involved, everyone’s making shots. It gets us really pumped up.”

Even that, however, just added to Ranslow’s frustration.

“There was a three- or four-minute stretch in the second quarter where we were executing offensively at a high level,” Ranslow said. “The problem is my expectation is we do that for 32 minutes, and we did it for three or four minutes.”

If it sounds demanding, there’s a reason for it. The Bulldogs reached the Class C South quarterfinals last year after going 13-5 in the regular season, and with most of the firepower back from that squad, expectations are high.

“It’s just not the fabric of a championship team, what I saw today,” Ranslow said.

Blake Rothwell scored 13 points and added six rebounds and Aaron Vermette scored 11 points for the Rebels. Alec Byron scored 12 points and Josh Nadeau had seven for the Bulldogs.

“Top to bottom, it’s just not enough. It’s not good enough,” Ranslow said. “I expect more, I’m going to demand more, and hopefully we’ll get more.”

Drew Bonifant — 621-5638

dbonifant@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @dbonifantMTM