BIDDEFORD — After a tough stretch in which it went 2-52, the Biddeford boys basketball team would turn things around in 2016-17, winning eight games and qualifying for the Class A South playoffs for the first time since 2012.

The Tigers return a handful of familiar faces in 2017-18, but also introduce some new pieces to help continue the program’s rise.

“It gives us confidence in that we know we can play and we know we can win games. When you’re 2-52 you’re just trying to win some games but now we’ve won some games and we want a little bit more — to build on what we did last year. We have a lot to prove,” said Biddeford coach Justin Tardif.

Returning guard Carter Edgerton also feels that last year’s playoff run has helped the Tigers experience the big stage, and hopes that it will pay off heading into this winter.

“We learned what it actually takes to be a playoff team. Going to the Expo and playing Falmouth was a good experience for the kids that are returning now, you can learn a lot by playing a program like that because you can see what you need to be like to get to the next step,” said Edgerton.

Biddeford is confident heading into 2017, despite losing three key seniors to graduation, as well as All-Conference forward Kyle Norton to injury until midseason.

“Last year we weren’t a team that won a lot of games, but we went in confident and won and that boosts our confidence even more this year. I feel like we can do a lot more than last year,” said DeSean Cromwell. “We got a few people that have filled that void — we’ve got Jerome Criado, Carter, we’ve got Kyle coming back.”

“We have that confidence from last year, but we need to stay focused and mentally sharp as a team,” added Jackson Oloya. “We go out there, get our business done and go home. We need to come together as a team, give 100 percent and go home with a W on opening night.”

Tardif has been pleased in the early going with his team’s maturity, and feels that there will be no shortage in leadership on and off the court.

“We’re going to be in good shape in terms of leadership and players playing hard and being good teammates. That’s one thing that we really stress in this program, being a good teammate during the wins and being a good teammate especially during the losses. We have a lot of character guys that are going to be able to do both,” said Tardif.

Edgerton echoed those sentiments.

“A lot of kids are stepping up into that role of the leader, role model, the guy that everyone turns to and asks, ‘what do we do now?’ Even kids that aren’t necessarily considered to be that role, they still act that way,” said Edgerton. “When you look 1-13 every person handles themselves as a leader.”

A point of emphasis this preseason has been focus, as well as attention to detail. The Tigers hope to play polished basketball, and make as few mistakes as possible.

“They learned that the little things matter — when you lose a game by two or three points you can look back at 10 or 15 possessions and see that if we did this or did that, then it would have been a totally different outcome. It’s focusing on the little things, that’s the difference,” said Tardif.

“Hard work and attention to detail. If we do that then we’ll progress, that’s something that a lot of teams don’t tend to do, doing all the little things,” added Cromwell.

The Tigers kick off their regular season this Friday versus visiting Kennebunk. Although Biddeford is confident heading into the winter, the Tigers are focused on taking it one day at a time, and building on the recent success they have had.

“We need to play at a greater speed. We all are comfortable with the (system), we’ve been around it for a long time. We need to build on what we’ve done in the past and just keep getting better and see where it takes us,” said Edgerton.

— Associate Sports Editor Alex Sponseller can be reached at asponseller@journaltribune.com or at 282-1535 ext. 323. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.