At last, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team pulled out a close one – and did so against a big-time opponent.

The Northstars squandered a 19-point lead in Tuesday night’s game against unbeaten Utica Proctor and trailed in the fourth quarter, but rallied to force overtime and outlasted the Raiders 66-63.

“This was monumental,” said C-NS head coach John Haas.

And Haas wasn’t exaggerating. The Northstars entered the contest with a 7-5 record, but those five losses had been by a combined 19 points, with no margin larger than five. Proctor, by contrast, was 10-0, yet wary because C-NS had beaten them in every meeting the last two years.

Looking for that elusive signature win, the Northstars dominated the first half, taking advantage of the Raiders’ cold shooting and pushing the tempo to its liking. By the time they reached the break, C-NS had a 38-19 lead.

Yet most of that margin vanished in the third quarter,when Proctor hit on four 3-pointers. That momentum continued deep into the fourth quarter, too, as the Raiders zoomed in front, leading by as much as five, 54-49, midway through that period.

Everything turned again, though, when two of Proctor’s guards, Nashon Brown and Kerion Barton, fouled out late in regulation. Free throws from Shakir Thomas and Vaughndell Brantley cut the margin to 54-53 before Maurice Mills’ foul shots got the margin back to 56-53.

It remained there until Brantley, with 15 seconds left, got open in the corner and drained a 3-pointer to tie it 56-56, and the Raiders turned it over, giving C-NS a chance to win in regulation. Double-teamed, Sam Nasser missed his shot, and it went to overtime.

Maurice Mills, who led Proctor with 14 points, was the third Raider to foul out, with 2:33 left in the OT. Still, the Northstars trailed, 61-59, and watched its own point guard, Logan Roberts, pick up his fifth foul.

But that proved to be the turning point because Mike Tricarico replaced Roberts and, with 1:36 left, hit a 3-pointer that put C-NS ahead to stay, 62-61. Tricarico would add two key free throws with 39 seconds left that helped the Northstars hang on.

“Mike has nerves of steel,” said Haas. “He’s been like that all the time this year. He isn’t hesitant to take the big shots.”

Brantley led all scorers with 16 points, eight of them in the fourth quarter. Nasser and Xavier Brown each had nine points. Mills led a balanced Proctor attack where Chris Simmons (12 points), Brown and Naron Harvey (11 points each) all hit double figures.

Now C-NS gets a 10-day break, nursing its 8-5 record until Jan. 27, when it returns to action with a trip to Auburn.