OAKLAND — Lizzy Gruber scored a game-high 27 points to lead Gardiner past Messalonskee 55-37 in a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A girls basketball game Thursday.

Taylor Takatsu added 11 points for Gardiner (4-1).

Ashley Mullen had 15 points and five steals for Messalonskee (1-3) while Brennan Doran added 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

BOYS BASKETBALL

DIRIGO 47, MONMOUTH 46: Charlie Houghton dropped in the game-high 20 points and went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line to help  the Cougars earn the Mountain Valley Conference win in Dixfield.

Dirge (3-1) held a 28-21 lead at halftime, but Monmouth closed in during the fourth quarter.

Hayden Fletcher led the Mustangs (4-1) with 13 points and teammate Sammy Calder

SKOWHEGAN 75, ERSKINE 36: Kyle LePage led four players in double figures with 12 points to spark the River Hawks to the KVAC A win in South China.

Collin LePage, Levi Obert and Adam Savage each added 10 points for Skowhegan (3-1).

Liam Perfetto and Kaden Porter scored seven points apiece for the Eagles (0-4).

BANGOR 71, LAWRENCE 49: Landon Clark scored 21 points to lead the Rams to the KVAC A win in Bangor.

Colton Emerson added 10 points for Bangor (4-1).

Conner Nutting led Lawrence (2-2) with 16 points while Dane Zawistowski had 11 and Parker Higgins 10.

FOREST HILLS 75, RICHMOND 48: Mason Desjardins had 17 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Tigers to the East/West Conference win in Richmond.

Braidan Welch scored a game-high 18 points for Forest Hills (6-0) while Jackman Daigle added 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Richmond (0-3) was led by Wyatt Cassidy with nine points and Zander Steele with eight.

LEAVITT 49, WATERVILLE 36: Degan Jordan provided a spark off the bench and the Hornets’ (4-1) defense clamped down in the second half to earn a road win over the Panthers (0-4) in Waterville.

Jordan scored a game-high 11 points, while also grabbing four rebounds and making four steals.

Five players scored for Leavitt in the opening quarter — foreshadowing its balanced attack throughout the game — as the Hornets jumped out to a 14-7 lead.

Waterville responded with 16 points, powered by four 3-pointers, in the second quarter to cut Leavitt’s lead to 24-23 by halftime. The Panthers, though, were limited to 13 points after halftime, including only four in the fourth period.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

MT. BLUE 54, NOKOMIS 39: Eva Stevens scored 14 points and Hannah Wilbur added 11 in the Cougars’ (1-4) first victory of the season over the Warriors (0-4).

By the end of the first half, the Cougars were ahead 27-12.  For Nokomis, Bri Townsend threw in the game-high 24 points and went 7-for-10 in free throws.