A couple of seasons spent chasing the top Section III Class AA contenders, and rarely catching up to them, has left the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team hungry to turn things around.

And while two games can’t completely alter the picture, the Northstars’ victory in New Hartford’s “All In for Vin” Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend had to provide plenty of encouragement.

C-NS would take on the hosts from New Hartford in the opening round. The Spartans lost its best player, Frankie Policeli, when he transferred to Long Island Lutheran in the off-season, and were still trying to find a new set of go-to guys.

The Northstars had no such issues and, mostly on the basis of an explosive third quarter, beat New Hartford 67-50.

These two sides played on even terms for most of the first half. Trailing 30-29 at the break, C-NS promptly outscored the Spartans 26-8 in the third period, fully utilizing its depth as 10 different players got on the scoreboard by game’s end.

Jaysaun Gunn led the way with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Riley Hogan got 13 points and six rebounds, while A.J. Forney had 10 points and seven rebounds. Judah Bailey put together six points, three blocks and five rebounds as Nick DeMonte (seven rebounds), Alex Gray (five rebounds) and Justin DelVecchio (four rebounds) also crashed the boards.

C-NS would meet Auburn in the championship game after the Maroons beat Utica Proctor 84-72 in the other opening-round contest. It proved exciting, with the Northstars needing every bit of its late cushion to hang on for a 77-75 victory.

Having held Auburn to seven points in the first quarter, C-NS seized an early advantage. The Maroons cut the margin to one, 28-27, by halftime, but again the Northstars played well in the third quarter, outscoring Auburn 27-17.

Just as it had earlier in the game, C-NS had to withstand a last-minute Maroons charge paced by Kaleb Cook, who amassed 32 points and 11 rebounds, but it did so with superior depth on hand.

Forney, with 13 points and eight rebounds, led a well-balanced effort as Gunn and DelVecchio each got 12 points, Gunn adding nine assists. DeMonte (10 points) also got to double figures as Hogan and Omar Mere each had seven points and Kyle Cody added six points.

On Friday night, C-NS will have its home opener against Corning, from Section IV. Then defending sectional Class AA champion Liverpool opens on Saturday against Bishop Grimes in the Peppino’s Invitational at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.