If there’s a stat to sum up the Madison Mohawks this early in the season it’s this: When five starters stepped onto the court in Friday’s season opener, all five were making their first varsity starts.

“Be patient with us, we’re a work in progress,” Madison coach Jeff Smith said after the Mohawks dropped to 0-2 following a 55-40 loss at Tri-County North on Saturday.

There were signs of progress in the loss, Smith said, namely a good press that will help whittle some deficits and better guard play compared to Friday. But the Panthers — coming off a 3-18 season — used the penetration of Austin Hutchins (20 points) and the strong inside play of Josh Heistley (12) to improve to 2-0.

Tri-County North never trailed, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and stretching it to 21-10 with two minutes left in the first half. Madison cut the deficit to 21-14 to open the third quarter, but the Panthers rattled off a 16-5 run to end the quarter for a commanding 37-19 lead after three quarters.

“They’ve bought in offensively and defensively what we do,” TC North coach Drew Jackson said of the difference between this season and last year. “The past two nights have been all defense. We’re closing out. … Madison had some great shooters, but our attitude has been the thing with our execution.”

Tri-County North beat National Trail 55-41 on Friday, giving the Panthers their first double-digit wins in at least two seasons.

“It’s fun to them now because they’ve seen if they do the right things what it leads to,” Jackson said. “Winning is great but we have to have that attitude. We’re not getting down on ourselves. We’re playing hard a the time and good things are happening.”

Madison held North to 21 points in the first half but managed just 11 itself. They were then outscored 16-8 in the decisive third quarter. Tre Owens led Madison with 16 points and Thomas Hall added nine.

“We’re really struggling to score,” said Smith, who graduated nine of his 11 players from last season and returned one letterwinner in lone senior Dylan Brown. “We reminded them how much work we have to do.”