Entering the paint against Cambridge is a risky proposition.

Even if an opposing guard is able to slide past the quick, stocky Jakigh Dottin, center Dimon Carrigan awaits, his arms seemingly everywhere at once, swatting shots and swiping rebounds.

Behind 20 points, 19 rebounds, and 5 blocks from Carrigan, and 17 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals from Dottin, Cambridge rolled past Portsmouth, N.H., 81-47, at the BABC Holiday Classic on Tuesday evening at Cathedral High.

“It’s an advantage,’’ Dottin said of having a target like Carrigan to play with. “He’s long and he’s lanky. He’s a big target so when I’m driving and his man steps up I always see him because he’s always calling my name and usually he’s always open. I like having a 1-2 punch with me and him [on the] pick-and-roll action, so it’s great.’’

Cambridge was determined to have a strong start after playing a lethargic first half against Acton-Boxborough in its final game before Christmas.

The Falcons did just that, jumping out to a 35-20 advantage late in the second quarter after back-to-back Dottin buckets, his first and second of the contest.

“For us tonight to get off to a good start, it was important,’’ said Cambridge coach Lance Dottin. “Tonight we were able to establish the low post early, which helps because we have the outside game.’’

With Portsmouth senior big man Joey Glynn in a walking boot, Cambridge faced no resistance down low.

Cambridge senior Daniel Rymer, coming off the bench, asserted himself in the post, getting 11 points and 5 boards. Junior Aidan Keefer added 12 points, showcasing a plethora of moves at the rim.

Still, it was the Carrigan-Dottin duo that proved too much for Portsmouth to handle.

“In my eyes he’s a true point guard,’’ Carrigan said of his partner. “He knows how to finish at the rim and knows how to distribute the ball; he’s just a great teammate and a great guy, my brother for life.’’

Everett 83, Belmont 51 — Junior guard Ghared Boyce poured in a game-high 21 points, including his 1,000th career point, to carry the Crimson Tide (4-0) past Belmont in the BABC Holiday Classic. Unleashing intense full-court pressure, Everett outscored the Marauders, 28-9, in the second quarter.

‘‘It was a blessing,’’ said Boyce’s father, Gerard. ‘‘He’s a special kid, knucklehead at times, but all kids are. I'm very proud to see him score his 1,000th point.’’

Cathedral 84, Bishop Stang 67 — Junior guard Khalil Blair scored 28 points as the host Panthers (3-2) pulled away in the second half for the win over Stang in the first round of the BABC Holiday Classic. Operating out of a 3-2 defense in the second half, Cathedral opened with the third quarter with a 10-4 run. Calvin Cheeks added 15 points.

St. Raphael 63, New Bedford 43 — Utilizing a stifling 2-2-1 press, the Fighting Saints (7-0) from Rhode Island stormed to a 24-6 cushion in the first quarter on the way to a convincing win in the BABC Holiday Classic at Cathedral. Peter Wilson and Trevonte Jones had 13 points apiece. New Bedford (0-3) never closed within 13 points.

St. John’s Prep 83, New Rochelle (N.Y.) 69 — Junior forward Tommy O'Neil led the Eagles (4-0) with 32 points and 21 rebounds in the BABC Holiday Classic. Junior Nate Hobbs added 27 points, including dunks on back-to-back possessions to start the fourth quarter, giving the Eagles a 63-58 lead they would not relinquish.

Westford 51, Billerica 50 — Coming out of a timeout, Armen Alamsian (21 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals) got fouled going to the basket with 4.2 seconds remaining. He sank both free throws to secure the win for the Grey Ghosts.

Oliver Ames 58, East Boston 36— Senior Dylan Mahoney and juniors Jack Spillane (12 points) and Matt Muir (10 points) helped power the Tigers (3-2) to a win in the Muscato Holiday Tournament.

Tech Boston 78, Braintree 63 — Junior forward Walter Dewhollis led the scoring with 29 points, 7 steals, and 2 blocks for the Bears (4-0). Center Shamar Moore added 19 points and 11 assists.

St. Mary’s 60, Lynn Classical 51 — Senior guard Johnny Mercardo (18 points) and sophomore guard Jalen Echevarria (16 points) lifted the Spartans (5-1) in the opening round of the Walter J. Boverini Tournament.

Bishop Fenwick 61, Pope John 43— Senior Ryan Veguilla tallied 15 points to lead four Crusaders who finished with double-digit scoring totals.

Sandwich 46, Pembroke 39 — Sam Whittle netted a team-high 13 points to pace the Blue Knights (3-2).

Malden Catholic 70, Franklin 64 — Junior guard Chris MacDonald led the way for the Lancers (4-0) with 22 points.

Revere 48, Medford 45 — Senior guard Curtis High scored a team-high 18 points for the Patriots (2-2).

Bourne 84, Old Rochester 79 — The Canalmen (4-1) overcame a 17-point deficit at halftime. Junior David Laine (22 points) and senior Jacob Ashworth (21 points) led the way for Bourne.

Carver 67, Plymouth North 58 — Senior Chris Willis led the Crusaders (4-1) with 23 points and six rebounds. Senior Jason Baker added 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

Cohasset 71, South Shore Voc-Tech 40 — Sophomores Thatcher Stone (17 points) and Mark Mahoney (11 points), and juniors Chase Bomeisler (14 points) and Sam Lelio (12 points) led the Skippers (3-1).

Taunton 73, Hope (R.I.) 49 — Freshman Naz Kenion led the way for the Tigers with 16 points.

Seekonk 54, Fairhaven 37 — Senior Matt Heaney notched 12 points and five assists to lead the Warriors (3-1).

Dighton-Rehoboth 53, Case 36 — Senior Arthur Correira led all scorers with 13 points for the Falcons.

Durfee 76, Rogers (R.I.) 46 — Chaten Mehra led all scorers with 18 for the Hilltoppers.

Winthrop 82, Essex Tech 47 — The Vikings were led by junior guards Tayjaun McKenzie, who tallied 20 points. Devin Pulsifer added 19.

Somerville 77, Danvers 50 — Senior Shaquille Joseph scored 17 points and added 15 rebounds to pace the Highlanders (3-1) in the first round of the Somerville Hoop Fest. Senior Chris David added 10 points and 12 assists.

Attleboro 76, Bishop Feehan 47 — Senior forward Jake Dunkley scored 19 points for the Bombardiers (5-0).

Malden 54, Woburn 36 — Seniors Bernard Taylor (14 points) and Nate Illebode (13 points, 10 rebounds) led the way for the Golden Tornadoes (4-0).

Abington 59, Sacred Heart 38— Jack Maguire (13 points) and Justin Keleher (12 points) led the way for the Green Wave (2-2).

Marian 72, Bay State Academy 58 — Sophomores Luis Nieves (20 points) and Romeo Hornsley (18 points, 15 rebounds) led the way for the Mustangs (3-2).

Lynn English 83, Lynn Classical 49 — Junior guard Angel Soto led the way with 19 points off the bench for the Bulldogs.

Cardinal Spellman 66, Duxbury 52 — Mike Spencer (18 points) and Craig Faria (17 points) led the way for the Cardinals.

Main South 51, Acton-Boxboro 50 — Main South’s Marquise Jones sank a layup with 5 seconds left, and the Colonials (1-5) missed a shot as time expired to help the host Cougars (3-1) earn the win. Jones scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the first half for Main South, and added five rebounds and four steals. Acton-Boxboro’s Luke Rogers scored 22 points.

Hopedale 55, Wayland 41 — Brain Espanet scored 21 points and Tyler Miller added 18 to lift the Blue Raiders (3-1) in the Bellingham Christmas Tournament.

Milford 69, Tantasqua 46 — Senior captains Anthony Araudi (22 points, 5 steals) and Zack Tamatni (13 points) helped the host Scarlet Hawks top the Warriors in the semifinal of the Scarlet Hawks Classic. Milford will face Waltham in the final at 7 p.m. Thursday. Tantasqua will face Norwood in the consolation at 5 p.m. Milford junior captain Kayden Kelley also pulled in 21 rebounds, while classmate Shane Cosquete added 9 points.

Girls’ basketball

Plymouth North 63, Durfee 53 — Senior Joie Grassi paced the Eagles (2-2) with 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 assists. Freshman Abby Egan added 13 points.

Wayland 54, Ashland 49 — Junior captain Darby Leib powered her way to 12 points and nine rebounds to lift the Warriors (2-2) in the second round of the Natick Invitional. Sydney Hsu (9 points, 8 rebounds) and Ellery Kiefer (9 points, 9 rebounds) also were stellar on the boards.

Greater New Bedford 43, Dartmouth 30 — Senior forward Payton Wildrick netted 20 points with 13 rebounds for the Bears (3-0).

Walpole 51, Brockton 41 — Senior shooting guard Kelly Fogarty dropped 26 points to lead the Rebels (2-1). Senior point guard Melanie Weber added 9 points and five assists.

Wareham 61, Southeastern 21 — Freshman Tiana Duarte scored 20 points for the Vikings in the win.

North Reading 48, Marblehead 24 — Senior captain Katerina Hassapis led the way for the Hornets (3-2) with 18 points, and junior Casey McAuliffe added 11.

Pope John 61, Winthrop 36 — Sophomore sisters Korine and Katty Haidul led the Tigers, with Korine chipping in 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals, and Katty adding 14 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Kylie Paulding also approached a triple-double with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

St. Mary’s 57, Lynn Classical 39 — Senior Temi Falayi scored 15 points to go along with 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans.

Dighton-Rehoboth 55, Case 50 — Sophomores Rebecca Howard (19) and Gwyn Tatton (18) combined for 37 points as the Falcons soared.

Oliver Ames 48, Needham 42 — Kayla Raymond (18 points) and Niyera Mitchell (9 points and 19 rebounds) had strong performances for the Tigers.

Cardinal Spellman 52, Middleborough 40 — The Cardinals improved to 3-2, with junior center Caroline Stover (21 points and 13 rebounds) carrying the load. Classmate Victoria Williams added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Swampscott 44, Lynn English 32 — Senior forward Hannah Leahy provided 18 points and eight rebounds for the Big Blue (4-1).

New Bedford 38, Bishop Stang 32 — The Whalers (2-3) handed the Spartans (4-1) their first loss of the year at the Sandwich Holiday Classic.

Melrose 52, Malden 26 — Senior center Catherine Torpey (18 points) came up big for the Red Raiders.

Masconomet 52, Beverly 23 — Junior guard Paige Amyouny contributed 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists for the host Chieftains (3-0). Freshman guard Mak Graves added 10 points and six assists.

Cohasset 41, Sandwich 39 — Lauren Cunning’s 10 points led a Skippers’ (3-2) team that saw scoring contributions from all seven players on the roster.

Newburyport 49, Triton 31 — Sophomore Anna Hickman’s 20 points carried the Clippers (3-1) to a win in the Institution for Savings Tournament.

Arlington Catholic 64, Billerica 59 — Senior Alex Ball scored 16 and sophomore Erin Donlan added 15 as the Cougars surged to victory.

Duxbury 53, St. John Paul II 24 — The Dragons (4-1) dominated the inside with leading scorers Nicole Callander (14 points), Caroline Curley (10 points), and Sam Brennan (10 points).

Quincy 56, Weymouth 48 — Junior Liana Cunningham and freshman Ally McMorrow each had 18 points to power the Presidents (4-1).

Nipmuc 38, Dover-Sherborn 31 — Kylie Gallagher scored 22 points and Ashley Ambrosino gathered 11 points as the Warriors (4-2) toppled the visiting Raiders (2-3).

Millis 53, Monty Tech 42— Senior Madison Russo led all scorers with 19 points, and sophomore teammate Erica Regan had 6 points and 15 rebounds for the host Bulldogs (1-2) in a loss to the Mohawks (3-2), Division 4 state finalists the last three years.

Milford 60, Hudson 31 — Junior point guard Kate Irwin led all scorers with 43 points for the Hawks (4-1).

Boys’ hockey

Duxbury 2, Natick 1 — Goalie Lee Kennedy denied six straight shootout attempts and Hunter Smith delivered the winner after 11 combined misses, lifting the host Dragons (3-1-1) over the Redhawks in the first round of the Island Creek Oyster Cup at the Bog in Kingston. Rourke Magwood gave Duxbury the early lead, but Natick’s Kyle Shea connected from straightaway with 3:51 left in the first.

Malden Catholic 3, Xaverian 2 — Junior Ryan Noonan (one goal, two assists) scored the winning goal for the Lancers (1-1-2) at the 9:20 mark of the third period.

Quincy 6, King Philip 4 — Senior captain Patrick Quirk picked up four goals and one assist to lift the Presidents (1-4).

North Reading 3, Melrose 1 — Junior forward Owen Maxwell scored two goals, including the winning goal at the 5:40 mark of the first period. Senior defenseman Colin Chase also scored a goal, and junior John Day turned away 21 shots for the Hornets (4-0), as they won the Kasabuski Christmas Tournament final.

Wachusett 3, Westfield 0 — Senior Jimmy Conway scored twice in the second period, while Mike Putnam made 25 saves to help the visiting No. 3 Mountaineers (4-0-1) blank the Bombers (4-2). Marc Richards also scored for Wachusett, while Shane Sullivan had two helpers.

Catholic Memorial 3, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 1 — Assistant captain Joey O'Leary and fellow senior Will Schmidlein connected for early goals to propel the Knights (2-1-0) past the Pioneers in the first round of the CCM Holiday Classic in Framingham. Tyler Reynolds scored in the third period for St. John’s (1-3-1).

Boys’ indoor track

St. John’s Prep 63, Xaverian 32 — Senior captain Nik Reardon won the high jump (6 feet, 4 inches) and junior Tristan Shelgren won the mile (4:38) for the Eagles at the Reggie Lewis Center.

St. John’s (Shrewsbury) 46, Catholic Memorial 44 — Senior Brendan O'Donnell won the high jump (5-10) and the 55 hurdles (8.7) to help the Pioneers (2-0) at the Reggie Lewis Center. St. John’s senior captain Khamal Saunders won the 300 (37.54) and senior co-captain Ben Kovacs won the 1,000 (2:39.64), while junior Josh Rahn won the mile (4:46.15).

Girls’ hockey

Lexington 6, Medford 0 — Forwards Emily DeVine and Ellie Geldart each provided a hat trick for the Minutemen (2-0-1).

Canton 2, Dedham 0 — Junior goaltender Colleen Kelleher made 24 saves in her second shutout of the year for the Bulldogs (2-1-1) in the Ice House Invitational.

Westwood 2, Norwood 1 — Junior Hannah Medsker and senior captain Caroline Fitzgerald each netted goals at the Ice House Invitational to power the Wolverines (4-1).

Wakefield 9, Saint Joseph Prep 0 — Freshman Hope Melanson and junior Olivia Cameron each recorded hat tricks to spark the Warriors (2-2).

Boston Latin 2, Fontbonne 0 — Kerri McLaughlin scored both goals for the Wolfpack.

Shrewsbury 5, Melrose 1 — Senior Megan Moran scored three times, and Grace Felicio and Delaney Couture each added a goal as the visiting Colonials (5-0) collected three goals in a 71-second span of the second period to beat the Red Raiders (2-3). Olivia Cwalinski and Jenna Krikorian both assisted on all three of Moran’s goals for Shrewsbury. Anna McCluskey scored for Melrose.

Correspondent Clevis Murray also contributed to this report from Cathedral High. For more highlights, go to bostonglobe.com/schools.