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AUGUSTA — The first Cony-Gardiner boys basketball clash this season was an offensive spectacle in which the Tigers nearly hit the 100-point mark.

The second clash between the Rams and Tigers? Although Thursday’s meeting wasn’t quite the scoring explosion, it once again had fans on the edge of their seats, with Cony pulling out a 75-69 win in a battle of two top Class B North team.

The win avenged one of the Rams’ two losses this season and was their first victory over a top-tier team in the region following losses to the Tigers and Hermon.

“We wanted this one so bad,” said Cony junior Ian Lasselle. “It’s all we could talk about (ever since the loss to them in December).”

HOW CONY DID IT

• Carter Brathwaite shined once again. One of the best freshmen in a class full of them, Brathwaite went for 29 points — 20 in the first half — and 13 rebounds. He also produced multiple clutch assists for Cony (12-2), including one to Parker Morin with less than 30 seconds to go.

• Lasselle delivered. Morin did not play for much of the game after picking up two early fouls and then suffering an apparent leg injury in the second half. The Rams twice needed a spark with him on the bench, and Lasselle stepped up, hitting a key 3-pointer in the first quarter and scoring nine points in the third.

“(Carter) sees the court great; he processes the plays before they even happen, and he sees his teammates well,” said Cony coach Isaiah Brathwaite. “Ian, he came through and made some plays and hit some shots, and he did a great job for us defensively.”

• Defense. In the first Cony-Gardiner showdown, the Tigers’ on- and off-ball movement generated countless open looks that led to points. The Rams allowed the visitors far fewer of those looks Thursday.

“I think over time and over the course of the season, we’ve just gotten better on defense,” Carter Brathwaite said. “(We’ve gotten better at talking it through) and rebounding.”

WHAT IT MEANS

• Cony jumps Mount Desert Island to move into third in the Class B North standings and closes the gap on Hermon and Gardiner. The Rams get a chance at another big win Saturday when they face Camden Hills (12-0), the No. 1 team in the Varsity Maine poll, in Rockport.

“It feels good; our guys definitely had this one marked on the calendar, for sure,” Isaiah Brathwaite said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work (to beat Camden). We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, but we know we’ve got to come back and get back to work tomorrow.”

• Gardiner (12-2) misses a chance to pull ahead of Hermon in the B North standings. It was the first loss of the season against a Class B team for the Tigers, whose only defeat to date was a 78-45 loss to Class A North contender Brunswick on Dec. 16.

“Toward the end of the season, it’s about trying to play consistent basketball on both sides of the court,” said Gardiner coach Aaron Toman. “That’s my message to our guys: Keep being consistent on both sides of the court, and let’s move forward.”

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

“Give credit to Cony because they kept making plays offensively and defensively. For our guys, it’s a testament to them, too, because we were down nine or 10 points there and fought our way back to make it interesting.” — Aaron Toman

STAT LEADERS

• Gardiner: Brady Peacock (22 points, seven rebounds), Trace Moody (12 points), Colin McCormick (nine points, six rebounds)

• Cony: Carter Brathwaite (29 points, 13 rebounds), Ian Lasselle (14 points, five rebounds), Jackson Kay (nine points, six rebounds)

UP NEXT

• Gardiner: at Leavitt (9-4), 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

• Cony: at Camden Hills (12-0), 7 p.m. Saturday