The boys from Portland and Bangor revived an old basketball rivalry Saturday at the Portland Expo.

Playing against each other in the regular season for the first time since 1933, Portland cruised to a 68-39 victory to run its record to 7-0.

Amir Moss, who led Portland with 19 points, drives past Jeff Spekhardt of Bangor for a layup Saturday during Portland’s 68-39 victory at the Portland Expo. John Ewing/ Staff Photographer

Tough on the football field, tough on the basketball court. Joe Esposito of Portland, one of the three finalists for the Fitzpatrick Trophy that will be awarded later this month, pulls down an offensive rebound in front of Justin Smith, left, and Henry Nagle of Bangor during Portland’s 68-39 victory Saturday at the Portland Expo. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

The teams are in the Maine Principals’ Association’s new Class AA North Division, so regular-season meetings now will become annual.

The last time the schools met in a game that mattered was in 2007, when Bangor won 56-39 in the Class A state final. The schools also met in state finals in 1923 and 1936.

Until 1933, Portland and Bangor usually played each other twice in the regular season.

“They were big football rivals back then,” said Peter Gribbin, Portland’s longtime public-address announcer.

The Rams lead the series 18-17 but it was quite clear Saturday which was the better team.

“Portland is by far the best team we’ve played,” Bangor Coach Carl Parker said. “This was a step back for us. We’ve played everybody relatively tough.”

It was the fifth time this season Bangor (2-6) has faced an unbeaten team.

“I think by far we have the toughest schedule and that’s not a complaint,” Parker said. “That’s the way it is.

“It’s a two-sided coin. If you play well and win some of those games, it’s to your benefit and you’re battle-tested.”

The Bulldogs played extremely well.

“We came out with a lot of energy and I think that really picked us up,” said Joe Esposito, one of Maine high school football’s three Fitzpatrick Trophy finalists. “Our ball movement was great. We’re picking up a lot of the little things we work on in practice.”

Portland opened the second quarter with a 14-0 run to take a 29-10 lead with more than four minutes left in the half. The Bulldogs opened the second half with an 11-2 run to make it 51-18 with 4:18 left in the third quarter.

“This was a pretty solid game all the way through,” Portland Coach Joe Russo said. “The bench contributed early.”

Amir Moss led the Bulldogs with a game-high 19 points. Sophomore point guard Terion Moss followed with 13. Esposito added 11 points.

Logan Alley, who hit three 3-pointers in the second half, led Bangor with nine points.

The Bulldogs impressed Parker.

“They’re a real competitive, talented team, and they play extremely hard,” he said. “50-50 balls, they get at least 75 percent of them, and tonight they probably got 90 percent of them. You can’t give extra possessions to teams that are real talented.”

Portland did a real job of keeping the ball once it gained possession. It didn’t commit its first turnover until more than 12 minutes had elapsed.

“It’s not just wing it and go,” Esposito said. “We like to take care of the ball.”

“When we have the ball it’s just very important not to commit a turnover,” Amir Moss said. “Limiting turnovers can help us win games. ”

Russo said there’s room for improvement, but was pleased with some aspects of his team’s performance.

“I like our defense and I like the way we’re shooting the ball,” he said. “We’re playing defense man-to-man as well as any team I’ve ever had, and I think we’re shooting the ball equally, if not better, than some of our previous teams who were very successful.”

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