WhenMike Puorro took over as head coach for the Barnegat High School boys varsity basketball team in 2014, he knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task. After all, the Bengal hoopsters were 8-41 the previous two seasons andbegan the 2013-14 campaign by losing their first 17 games.

But as of Jan. 24, the Bengals were 10-4 and 5-3 in the Shore Conference B-South division. They have already surpassed last year’s win total by eight.