BANGOR – The Bangor Christian boys not only picked up a valuable victory over previously unbeaten Deer Isle-Stonington Monday night, the youthful Patriots also grew up a bit.

Thanks to some crucial contributions from two freshmen off the bench, the Patriots were able to offset an abysmal night on the foul line and pull out a 63-61 triumph over the Mariners at Husson College’s Newman Gymnasium.

“I think this is one to grow on because Stonington’s going to win a lot of games,” said fifth-year coach Gary Colson, whose Pats improve to 2-1.

Colson got his usual big efforts from junior center Pat McCleary and sophomore guard David Chrisos, but if not for some extra help from freshmen Kyle Bradford and Josh Madden, the outcome might have been different.

“I think we capitalized on our depth, which is something we really have not had in past years,” said McCleary, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks before fouling out. “We were able to put some fresh legs in there late and do some things we wanted to do. I have a lot more confidence in our bench now.”

The game was tied 57-all with 2:50 to play when the 6-foot-5 McCleary drew his fifth foul. Mariners forward Matt Perez hit both foul shots and things suddenly looked glum for the Pats.

With 6-3 starting forward Ben Sobey already sitting out the game with a broken bone in his shooting hand, the Pats were without their two tallest starters, down two points, and without any more fouls to give.

But after Chrisos (16 points) converted a three-point play to retake the lead for the Pats, Bradford drew a foul and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 62-59 with 2:06 left.

The Patriots then missed a few opportunities to cushion their lead further as they missed three of their final four foul shots. Fortunately for them, the Mariners were having an equally bad time at the line as they missed six of eight in the last two minutes.

Dismal foul shooting aside, the Mariners still had a chance to tie it or send it into overtime as Mariners guard Eric Ray rebounded a Perez shot from the lane with four seconds to play and drew a foul.

Ray missed both shots and BC’s Chris Patterson got the rebound, but junior guard Josh Bolton (13 points) stole it away and managed to get off a shot from the right side before the buzzer sounded, but the 12-footer from the baseline bounced off the rim and the Patriots prevailed.

Chrisos and Colson said the Pats were too impatient when they tried to spread the offense in the final minutes and force the Mariners to foul. That and a 12-for-24 effort from the line nearly spelled doom.

But back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Matt Conley and Madden early in the fourth quarter plus a 57.5 percent shooting effort from the field made the difference – That and the Mariners shooting woes (36.7 percent from the floor and 45.8 from the line).

Bolton led the Mariners with 13 points while Justin Boyce finished with 11 points and 11 boards.

Patriots 63, Mariners 61

Bangor Christian (2-1) Deer Isle-Stonington (2-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Jeskey 0 0 0 0 0 Martin 2 3 2 2 6

Madden 2 6 0 0 5 Wallace 3 6 2 3 8

Conley 1 1 1 2 4 Bolton 4 13 3 5 13

Tyree 4 7 1 4 9 Ray 0 7 0 4 0

C.Patterson 1 2 1 2 3 Perez 3 7 3 7 9

Chrisos 6 12 1 1 16 Gray 2 5 0 0 4

Bradford 1 2 3 4 5 Hardy 2 5 0 0 4

Doten 0 0 0 2 0 Ballou 1 2 0 0 2

McCleary 8 10 5 9 21 Boyce 5 9 1 3 11

Gielarowski 2 3 0 0 4

Totals 23 40 12 24 63 Totals 24 60 11 24 61

Deer Isle-Stonington 15 31 50 61

Bangor Christian 16 35 44 63

3-pt. goals: DI-Stonington (2-5): Boston 2-4, Hardy 0-1; Bangor Christian (5-10): Chrisos 3-7, Conley 1-1, Madden 1-2

Attendance: 250 (est.)

Preliminary: Bangor Christian JVs 49-34