The Hodgdon boys brought a smothering brand of team defense to the Cross Insurance Center on Monday and earned an upset win over a talented Bangor Christian team by a score of 52-36.
Cyran Ciarleglio paced the Hawks with 20 points in the win, their first in three tries against the Patriots this season. Bangor Christian won the previous two matchups by at least 20 points each time.
“They beat us two times for almost 30 each game,” Ciarleglio said after the win. “We really put it to them in the first quarter.”
Ciarleglio also had 12 rebounds and six assists in the win at the Class D North tournament in Bangor, which he called an amazing atmosphere.
“We had a lot of time to prepare before Bangor,” the junior said. “We had two weeks off, and we really worked on everything. We scrimmaged a few college teams and everything. So, just got it done.”
Hodgdon held Bangor Christian leaders Jesse Booker and Rajon Reed to a combined 21 points on Monday. Reed led the Patriots with 16 points.
Ciarleglio said his team will need to stay focused as the tourney continues, and felt good after getting it done Monday morning.
“It means a lot, and I just wanted to go ball,” Ciarleglio said.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Cyran Ciarleglio’s name.