The first two years as head coach at his alma mater didn’t necessarily go as planned for Kevin Cannon. The accomplished 2004 graduate who won 115 matches in a River Hill wrestling singlet took over the program in 2015 and said it felt like his team was simply out there “surviving” the last two years.

The record reflected as much. The nine-time Howard County champions combined for a 32-23 record over the last two years, including a 12-13 campaign last season, far from the state-championship expectations that surround the program.

“It was tough. We lost a coach [Brandon Lauer] and what I thought were two returning state champs in Matt Sheely and Brady Daniel and I wasn’t in the school,” Cannon said. “I gained confidence getting back into the school last year. It was huge. I’ve got 45 kids out for the team this year. We had to face adversity but we all persevered through it.”

On Tuesday, the Hawks continued their ascent into relevance with two dominant home victories over Howard, 48-16, and Reservoir, 63-18, to improve to 5-1 in Howard County and 10-1 overall.

River Hill won 20 of its 28 matches overall on the night with seven double winners. The Lions knocked off the Gators, 46-23, to finish the day 1-1 and move to 3-3 overall. Reservoir fell to 0-5 in county and 2-9 overall.

“I think we’re starting to buy into the program,” Cannon said. “We’re out there trying to dominate and add up scores and trying to get positive momentum instead of negative momentum.”

The Hawks entered the night expecting a battle with Howard, and after nine bouts it proved to be true. They led by just five, 21-16, after the Lions won five of six matches to cut into an early 15-0 hole, but River Hill’s upper weights stepped up and reclaimed the momentum.

Boys basketball

No. 1 Poly 80, Ben Franklin 56: The visiting Engineers (4-0) built a 35-17 lead in the first half and rolled over the Bayhawks (2-2). Travis Jordan had 11 points for Ben Franklin.

No. 4 John Carroll 77, No. 3 Perry Hall 62: The Patriots (8-2) beat the Gators (1-2) at Harford Community College and bounced back from a one-point loss to St. Maria Goretti on Sunday.

No. 11 Lake Clifton 39, Edmondson 26: The host Lakers (3-1) had a 13-point lead over the Red Storm (0-1), when Edmondson’s players and coaches walked off the court and didn’t return with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Armon Harried had 17 points for Lake Clifton.

Catonsville 45, Edgewood 39: Tiare Waldon scored 16 points, but the visiting Rams (1-5) fell to the Comets (2-2).

Patterson Mill 67, Havre de Grace 62: The visiting Warriors (1-2) came back to take their first lead since early in the first quarter with just over three minutes left in regulation, but the Huskies (5-0) immediately answered with a decisive 10-0 run that ultimately proved to be the difference.

Senior guards Max Elliott (18 points) and Nick Cress (13 points) paced Patterson Mill on offense in the win.

—Brent Kennedy,

Baltimore Sun Media Group

Girls basketball

No. 3 Roland Park 49, Skyline (Utah) 37: Mir McLean had a game-high 19 points to lead the Reds (7-1) past the Eagles (6-2) in the opening round of the Nike Tournament of Champions at Phoenix, Ariz. Roland Park faces Salesian (Calif.) today at 6:30 p.m.

Annapolis Area Christian 59, Chouteau-Mazie (Okla.) 45: The Eagles (8-1) beat the Wildcats (5-4) in a Pink bracket semifinal of the KSA Pre-Holiday tournament at Orlando, Fla.

AACS faces Central (Va.) in today’s championship at 11:30 a.m.

Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.