BANGOR – When Troy Garland ran onto the Bangor Auditorium court Friday night, the applause that greeted him was more an expression of relief and appreciation than an honest expectation that he’d lead Hermon back from a double-digit hole against Mount Desert Island.

Garland, you see, lived every person’s nightmare this season when he developed a sore ankle, then had doctors poke, prod, and test to no avail.

“I went and got it X-rayed, and they didn’t see anything,” Garland said. “So I went and got an MRI.”

And the result was chilling.

“They thought I had a cancerous tumor in there,” he said.

Garland told the Hawks of the diagnosis during practice, and their reaction was predictable: shock.

“It was devastating to us,” Hermon coach Clayton Blood said. “It certainly puts things in perspective, and makes you realize that character and relationships with people are more important than the outcome of a tournament game.”

But after further tests, Garland got some great news.

“I went and got it biopsied and it turned out it was nothing,” Garland said.

Well, not exactly nothing. But a stress fracture that – coupled with ankle missing a piece of bone thanks to the biopsy – kept him out of action for the final six games of the regular season.

Ironically, the trainer who told Garland he ought to get the ankle X-rayed had originally suspected a stress fracture was the cause of his discomfort, and told the player that.

Garland practiced for a total of 10 minutes over the past few days, but Clayton Blood still didn’t know if his 6-foot-4 senior would be able to play in the Class B quarterfinal.

But just in case Blood needed him, Garland camped himself in the chair next to his coach on the bench and waited.

With little more than a minute to go until intermission, Blood looked to his right at the kid he’s known since the 5-year-old Garland attended all the Hawks’ games.

“He asked me, `You ready?’ And I said, `I’ll go give it a shot,’ Garland said. “It was painful, but I dealt with it. It’s the last game.

Ten games into the season, Garland was a defensive stopper who averaged 12 points, 6.5 rebounds, and four assists a contest.

“I got to where I needed to be, but I wouldn’t say I was the quickest guy out there,” he said of his play before the stress fracture.

On Friday, he scored one hoop and grabbed a rebound in limited action. After removing the air cast after the game, Garland showed how serious the injury still is: He could hardly walk.

But Blood said his playing time was far from a gift.

“He actually did some things to help us,” Blood said. “He really did. It wasn’t just for the sentiment.”