A redemption win over visiting Raymond was just what the Conant boys’ basketball team needed, and they got it Monday night in a tense slugfest that extended the Orioles’ win streak to three.

“We can see the potential that we have,” Conant head coach Jimmy Peard said after the 60-48 win. “We just haven’t reached it. Maybe that’s on me – first-year coach. Maybe it’s that the kids have their own mindset and they just haven’t fully bought in. But hopefully, all we have to do is get to the playoffs and we can give anybody a game.”

The Orioles (4-6) didn’t get off to the start Peard hoped for in his first season after moving up the bench from assistant to take over for the legendary Eric Saucier, who’s now head coach at Bow after almost 20 years at Conant.

The O’s lost their opener at Raymond in December, and then after eking out a win against Monadnock, they dropped five games in a row against some of Division III’s best teams: defending champs St. Thomas (6-2), Gilford (8-1), Mascoma Valley (8-1), Hopkinton (4-4) and No. 1 Campbell (9-1).

That trial by fire wreaked havoc on Conant’s record, but the battle-testing gave Peard and his boys a chance to balance their offensive and defensive approaches.

“It’s hard when you want tough, hard-nosed defense and freedom on offense,” Peard said. “I want them to have freedom on offense and score, but defense comes first, and all of our games have always been one quarter or one half that we just aren’t committed to it. So that’s our only downfall.”

The Orioles came out committed on Monday night, holding Raymond to just 10 points in the first half on four field goals and taking a commanding 29-10 lead at the break.

Things changed after halftime, however, as Rams guard Dre Duffaut got things going for the visitors, scoring 15 of his team-high 19.

“The first half, they didn’t make a lot of shots,” Peard said. “Second half, they started hitting some shots and they ramped it up.”

The Rams cut the deficit to single digits and had the game in reach in the fourth quarter, employing their full-court press to create a few turnovers.

But after a quick timeout to go over the press break, Conant found a winning offensive strategy – get the ball in Jared Nagle’s hands. The Rams elected to foul the senior guard repeatedly, which worked out well for the Orioles, as Nagle went 10-10 from the line in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-high 25 points and put the game out of reach.

“Jared’s just Jared,” Peard said. “Handling our ball, scoring it, playing great defense, he’s been doing everything. And, he’s been great working with anything I ask, he’s asking questions, he’s doing it all.”

Nagle, who averages 19 points per game (fourth in DIII), is one of three seniors starting for the Orioles this season, along with center Dylan Adams (11 points) and swingman Ben Sawyer. Sawyer (14 points Monday) is a tough defender and tremendous athlete who can slash his way to the rim with ease, and Adams – who has been Conant’s biggest big man for a couple years now – is right at home in the paint as he muscles down rebounds and deploys some Jimmy Peard-esque post moves of his own.

“We work on it every day, just trying to get a little better, working on another post move and then forcing [Adams] to do it in the game,” Peard said.

The Orioles also have a quartet of juniors, bonded on the baseball diamond and defined on the hardwood by their hard work – Drey Seppala, who at 5-feet, 8-inches is Conant’s best on-ball defender; Kaiden Charron; Braeden Dion; and Hunter Schultz, who exemplifies the effort and attitude Peard wants to see from his team.

“That’s his thing,” Peard said. “He’s hustle. And if he can throw in a couple jumpers and a couple layups at times, great. But energy, defense, rebounding – that’s all I want.”

It would be nearly impossible for Peard this season to step out from the shadow left by Saucier, who was with the program for 19 years and head coach for 16, winning five state titles and making seven finals appearances after taking over from legend-in-his-own-right Joe Giovannangeli.

As a player, Peard won four straight championships of his own – two under Saucier and two under Giovannangeli with Saucier assisting; he’d eventually step into the assistant position on Saucier’s staff, and now, he’s using what he learned from those greats in his own coaching.

While he’ll likely develop his own signature elements in time, Peard said isn’t looking to put his own stamp on the program; rather, he plans to preserve Saucier’s approach to the game. Playing the game the right way and playing it Saucier’s way are one and the same, he said.

“The culture – and the defense,” Peard said. “Respect the game of basketball, be respectful to the fans, to the coaches, to the refs, to everything.”

That’s a lesson still being learned, and the Orioles will learn it the hard way this week, as both Nagle and Schultz were ejected from Monday’s game following a hard boxout of Raymond’s Duffaut that culminated in a mild scuffle at halfcourt. All three will miss their next game by rule and must complete an NHIAA-required course before returning to the court.

That means Conant will be shorthanded Friday night when they head up to Stevens, with the suspensions taking a bite out of a roster that’s already the walking wounded, with both Adams and Sawyer nursing nagging injuries.

“We’re going up there on a stretcher,” Peard said. “If we can claw out a win, I’ll be very proud of the boys, very proud of them for that.”