The improving Wilton-Lyndeborough and Mascenic teams met on the hardwood in New Ipswich Tuesday night for a hoops battle that showed both teams how far they’ve come and how much more work they have to do.

The Warriors (3-9) brought it early in the game, hanging with the Vikings (6-8) through most of the first half, but Mascenic pulled away before the break, and by the end of the game, they had a margin big enough to empty the bench, ultimately winning 69-37.

“As a team, we started out in control, and then the more aggressive they got, the more uncontrolled and undisciplined we got,” said WLC head coach Cam Taber after the game. “So props to them for staying tough, staying in the game and making us lose our heads a little bit. But at the end of the day, that’s high school basketball.”

The Warriors are now on a seven-game losing streak that started with their first matchup against Mascenic on Jan. 7.

Nonetheless, they are still trending in the right direction as a program. Following a few years with lean numbers, WLC has a full 14-man roster this season for the first time in quite a while.

“I think it’s a testament to the things we did as a program last year,” Taber said. “When I came in, the culture was a little off. I take it as a compliment to the things we’ve done as a school and a community to get people excited in basketball. Even though we’re not winning as many games, people are still showing up, having fun, enjoying themselves. So I’ll take that all day.”

WLC has a talented big man in senior Ben Jacob (12 points), who’d probably be a dominant center or power forward on a team with a different makeup. As it is, Jacob has to do a little of everything – rebound, score in the paint, bring the ball up, break the press – and combining that workload with opponents’ heavy defensive focus keeps his numbers down a bit.

“Beyond being a great player on the court, he’s a great leader for us,” Taber said. “He’s top of his class academically; he’s a great leader on the court. He shows a good presence. When he plays hard, we play hard. If he hangs his head, people look to that. So I’ve challenged him this year to be a better winner on the court all the times, even when things aren’t going his way. He’s a great player for us, and we all feed off that. Everyone looks to him on the court, off the court. So we look for him to be a good leader and a good kid – and he always rises to the occasion.”

WLC also gets solid contributions from upperclassmen Colby Collins (four points), a lanky swingman with speed who can get to the basket, and Harry Krug (seven points), a hard-nosed defender who can move the ball up the court.

“Shoutout to Harry Krug,” Taber said. “Same situation, top of his class, just got into Dartmouth, so he’s using this as an opportunity to show us he’s a leader. He’s a great kid, always smiling. Even when tonight when things aren’t going his way, he pushes the pace, pushes the energy, and he’s just an overall great kid for us.”

Looking forward, Daxton Richard (six points) promises to be a big part of the team in years to come. Taber said he has perhaps the best basketball IQ on the team and his pair of late threes showcased his shooting ability.

The Warriors are only a couple games out of Division IV’s 16th and final playoff spot, so with six games left to play, WLC has a shot at the postseason. But regardless of record, Taber said their biggest goal is certainly achievable.

“I’m just looking for them to become better people, better men and grow up a little bit as we go through. We’ve done that from the first game to now, and there’s no reason we can’t continue.”

WLC was set to host Portsmouth Christian (8-5) Wednesday after press time and then host Mount Royal (0-13) Friday night.

The Vikings, meanwhile, started slow Tuesday night but ended up running away with the game.

“We missed a bunch of shots in the beginning of the game, ones that we normally hit,” Mascenic coach Matt Hagar said. “Then we were trying some guys in different spots, seeing if that worked. We’re still working. Everything’s a work in progress, so we’re just getting our feet back under us.”

After some shaky early shooting, the Vikings lit it up, particularly Chuck Phillips, who hit four first-half 3-pointers en route to 17 points. Lucas Leroux kept up his steady output, scoring a game-high 19; he’s averaging 19 a game, which is good for fifth in Division IV. Wesley Desrosiers added 10.

Hagar said that while he likes his team to shoot from the perimeter, their true bread-and-butter is the fast break.

“We run every day, so that’s where we like to stay in our lane and just push the pace,” Hagar said.

Mascenic lost its first five games of the season, but have now won four of their last five and six of their last nine. They’ve yet to clinch a playoff berth; right now, they’re 13th in the division, but depending on how the next two weeks go, they could leapfrog a couple teams.

“We’ve made progress,” Hagar said. “We want perfection. We’re after perfection. That’s what we’re going to strive for, that’s what we’re going to get. We hold ourselves accountable to that. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. I’m definitely happy with how tonight went, but there’s a lot of work, a lot of stuff we’ve got to fix, and we’ll get after it day in and day out, just as we normally do.”

Mascenic is at Sunapee (1-12) Friday.