It’s like old times for Alden-Hebron brothers Fabian and Aldo Carreno, who, truthfully, are too young for old times.

Regardless, they’re having fun playing basketball like they did growing up, shooting jumpers in the driveway of their Hebron home.

They’re smiling – and winning games. That didn’t happen last season for the Giants.

“It was tough,” said Aldo Carreno, who started as a freshman last winter on a team that went 1-27. “It was hard going into games knowing we were going to get blown out. Some games we couldn’t even score over 20. I think we had a couple games where we scored under 15. The atmosphere was dead, the locker room was dead, everything was dead.”

This season, the Giants are alive.

A-H’s 61-33 win over visiting Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy in a Northeastern Athletic Conference game Thursday night hiked their win total to 11 with four games left in the regular season.

Fabian Carreno, a thickly built 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward, scored a game-high 22 points. His little brother, Aldo, a 6-4 sophomore guard/forward, had 18 points.

“He’ll be better than me,” Fabian Carreno said. “But not yet.”

The comment got a grin out of both brothers, who have no other siblings. They each also had seven rebounds against OLSHA.

“I remember the moments playing in the driveway, one-on-one with him,” Aldo Carreno said. “I think that really helped me improve a lot. Sitting behind him, learning a lot from him, it’s something I appreciate so much.”

The Carreno brothers and 6-1 junior Adam Chavera (10 points, 10 rebounds) used their length and physicality to help A-H (11-12, 4-4 NAC) build a 20-0 lead on OLSHA (4-23, 0-10), which couldn’t match the Giants’ size and muscle. The Guardians didn’t score until late in the opening quarter.

A-H also started 6-2 Nick Heber (eight points, eight rebounds) and 6-1 JP Stewart.

The win was the Giants’ third in their past five games.

“We’re taller this year, so that helps us a lot,” said coach Rick Peterson, who returned to A-H after a one-year stint at Marian Central. “The good thing about this year is that 1-27 team [last season] is the same players. The difference is, we’re having fun.

“They’re playing hard, and they’re starting to believe. The last five or six games we’ve been hanging with good teams.”

The Giants have been getting healthy, too, Peterson said. Fabian Carreno missed some time because of illness, while Stewart was out with a broken wrist.

Fabian Carreno pointed to the team’s chemistry as one of the biggest reasons for its vast improvement from last season.

“Last year, we had some problems,” said the four-year varsity veteran, who played for Peterson his freshman and sophomore years. “People quit. This year, we’re really together. We’re a family. We all get along. It’s something special.”

Peterson, Fabian Carreno said, has made a difference.

“He brought back playing hard,” Fabian Carreno said. “Last year we played a little lazy. This year, before games, you feel the intensity. Our gym’s getting packed. It’s just a different culture. It’s like a different feeling, a different environment.”

Fabian Carreno’s fun against OLSHA included a behind-the-back defensive rebound in the second half after the ball kicked out to him near the foul line. In one motion, he grabbed the ball and flipped it behind his back to a teammate.

The flashy rebound drew a roar from the home fans, who already were loud.

“It just came to me, and it was behind my back,” Fabian Carreno said. “I was, like, ‘I’ll pass it back.’ I don’t really do that too often.”

This season continues to be different.