LEBANON — It was almost like the old days Tuesday in Lebanon High’s Lang Metcalf Gymnasium.

The pep banded blasted away during timeouts. Student sections for the home Raiders and visiting Hanover chanted back and forth, an estimated 300 combined. Old-timers and elementary school students, parents and extended family members, all had come to watch an NHIAA Division II basketball season opener.

Unlike the old days, however, Hanover won, 48-34. Metcalf, who coached Lebanon to 507 victories between 1960-97, rarely fell to his school’s neighboring rival, let alone by double digits. The Bears, however, are clearly on the rise.

“We’re more consistent and experienced at both ends of the floor,” said second-year Hanover coach Ben Davis, whose team lost both clashes with Lebanon last season. “There’s a foundation in place now for the system we’re trying to run, and our guys trust each other.”

Hanover began last season 0-10 after graduating all its starters and following the resignation of 24-year head coach Tim Winslow. However, the Bears won five of their final eight games, narrowly missed the playoffs and dedicated themselves during summer workouts and play.

“Our defensive intensity and consistency from possession to possession was awesome tonight,” said Davis, previously a small-college head coach and NCAA Division I assistant. “We talked about being able to defend for 30 or 40 seconds at a time if we had to do that and to rebound.

“I think we did that and frustrated them, and that eventually turned into offensive opportunities for us.”

Point guard Ryan McLaughlin, son of Dartmouth College men’s basketball coach David McLaughlin, led the visitors with 13 points, followed by post player Jaysen Oriol, who had 11. McLaughlin, a sophomore, began the night 3-of-11 from the floor but, unlike last season, didn’t let his frustrations fray his play or lead to overly dramatic protests on fouls.

“His job is to stay patient and get us into our offense and move the ball,” Davis said. “Teams are going to load up on him, so he has to use his high basketball IQ to know when it’s time to pass versus when it’s time to try and go score.”

McLaughlin delivered a couple of buckets through a crowded lane and whipped two beautiful passes directly off the dribble. Oriol, whose athletic and powerful physique calls to mind former NBA star Charles Barkley, was unbothered by swarming defenders when he had the ball and showed understanding of when and how to find open spaces beneath the basket to receive a feed.

Lebanon has a new head coach for the first time since 1997 and only its second since 1960. Metcalf was followed by Kieth Matte, who resigned after last season. He’s now the principal at Groveton High in northern New Hampshire. The Raiders’ new boss is Lebanon graduate and former player Blendon Salls, who grew up a gym rat in the enormous room in which his team now practices and plays.

A ward of the court who was adopted by former Lebanon assistant Rich Tobin as a teenager, Salls previously coached lower-level Lebanon High teams and on the AAU circuit and served a stint as Thetford Academy’s athletic director. He’s now the Carter Community Building Association’s sports director.

Clad in a maroon dress shirt, canary yellow tie and khaki pants, Salls shouted and stomped his sideline in front of about a dozen friends and family in town to watch his debut and to wish him a happy 41st birthday.

Nick Brill led Lebanon with 14 points on four 3-point buckets and two free throws. Senior classmate and willowy post man Chase Adams added seven points but needs to discover a mean and physical streak to effectively battle the division’s big men.

The Raiders played hard but had trouble in the paint. Offensively, they had little success driving the lane and their defensive rebounding at times frustrated the crowd’s home faction.

Salls wants his troops to play faster than in the past, but Tuesday, his players tended to catch the ball and hesitate, the product of instruction not yet becoming instinctual.

“We played a little nervous on the offensive end,” said Salls, whose team trailed, 17-11 at halftime.

“Hanover’s stronger and taller than we are and Hanover has tenacious rebounders. We need to get a little more physical.”

“We were a little bit slow on our defensive rotations but we’ll get there. We’re running essentially the same offense and defense from past years, but tonight was a good feeling-out process for the kids and for me.”

Hanover visits Merrimack Valley (0-1) on Friday while Lebanon hosts Pembroke (1-0) the same day.

Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com