Chris Gaudreau admits his Bow boys basketball team is searching for its identity.

On the defensive end, the boards or amid a crowded Class I field, the Falcons have an idea of what kind of team they want to be.

But above all, they know what kind of team they’re not. Frustrated by a 1-4 start and feeling nothing like the state finalist it was a year ago, Bow has risen from the Class I cellar in recent weeks by playing basketball like Gaudreau’s teams of the past.

With a renewed focus on defense and rebounding, the Falcons have held each of their last four opponents to 50 or fewer points, including Merrimack Valley in a 50-44 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Despite the setback, Bow has posted wins in three of its last four games, climbed one game within .500 and, as expected, regained some of the confidence and swagger usually associated with the Falcons.

“When you have an inexperienced team, part of what you’re doing is trying to figure out the type of team you are, and I think we’re still feeling things out,”’ Gaudreau said. “But in the three years I’ve been here, each year we’ve started to ‘get it’ a little bit more on the defensive end of the floor and in rebounding the basketball. So I think we’ve always been a team that’s tried to hang its hat on that end. And slowly but surely, we’re trying to get there.”

Inexperience doesn’t hinder most teams with 11 juniors and seniors, but that’s essentially what Bow was. Players like junior point guard Jimmy Fellows, senior guard Aaron Miller and senior forward Tucker Corson took up starting roles this season, but only after seeing limited minutes the past two years.

Seasoned veterans like junior guard Brian Chergey and 6-foot-8 senior center D.J. Poitras – “table-setters” last year for Paul and Michael Chergey, Gaudreau said – began the year with more responsibility as central figures of the offense.

Gaudreau said the team didn’t panic, but there was a feeling that “we didn’t know why we were losing,” Brian Chergey said.

Now, as Bow enters games against Laconia on Friday, Jan. 26, and Bishop Brady on Jan. 30, frustration has been replaced by a comfort zone the squad intends to ride back up the Class I standings.

“At the beginning of the season, it was weird for me especially not having Mike and Paul here the first couple of games, but it’s been working well lately,” Chergey said after the team’s 56- 32 win over Souhegan on Friday, Jan. 19.

In that game, Chergey led all scorers with 23 points, two games after scoring 25 against Oyster River, while Poitras added 11 points and four rebounds. Nick Sarette and Jarred Siciak also gave Gaudreau quality minutes off the bench in holding Souhegan to four second-quarter points.

“We knew we had talent this year, it was just a matter of time until we would be what we needed to be,” Chergey continued. “I think we’re heading in the right direction now.”