Western Tech coach Mike Slepesky shook up his starting lineup, but his team didn't panic after scoring two points in the first quarter and rallied for a 63-59 victory over visiting Overlea Wednesday night.
The Wolverines (6-2) improved to 2-0 in the division, while the Falcons (5-6) dropped its first league game.
It didn't appear that way when the Falcons opened up a 10-2 lead that ballooned to 14-2 in the first minute of the second quarter.
The Falcons employed a 2-3 zone and the Wolverines made just 1 of 14 field goals in the first quarter.
Overlea center Deon Moore scored four points and grabbed seven of his game-high 16 rebounds in the quarter.
Western Tech finally got hot from the perimeter in the second quarter when they scored six of their seven field goals from beyond the three-point arc.
James Handy (team-high 13 points) connected on all three of his treys and Andre Jackson, Cori Tabb and Khalil Edwards all nailed three-pointers in the period as the Wolverines pulled within three, 26-23, at halftime.
"We exploited the fact it has to be inside than out and that's what helped us get the three-pointers to start dropping," Slepesky said. "They became uncontested because we got the ball inside then kicked it out."
"They shot us out of the zone," Overlea coach Dave Iampieri said.
Overlea switched to a man-to-man in the second half and that was just what the doctor ordered for 6-foot-6 inch Jackson and 6-5 Keith Crowell.
Jackson scored nine of his 12 points and grabbed nine of his 12 rebounds in the second half.
Crowell scored 11 of his 12 points and hauled in seven of his 13 rebounds in the second half.
"We started working together and playing more as a team," Crowell said.
The Wolverines also switched to a man-to-man and picked up the intensity, while forcing 11 turnovers in the middle quarters.
"That man and fullcourt pressure produced a lot of turnovers in the second and third quarters," Slepesky said.
"When we played man, we were more comfortable than the zone defense," Jackson said.
The Wolverines also got stellar guard play from Tabb and Tre Beverly in the pressing man-to-man as they combined for three steals in the third quarter and kept pressure on Overlea guards Will Watts and Jeremy Sams.
Western Tech took a 40-33 lead into the fourth quarter and expanded it to 47-33 early in the quarter before Overlea made a valiant comeback effort and pulled within four in the end.
The Falcons were led by Gideon Whitacre (17 points), Moore (16) and Daren Alexander (13), but they only finished 5 of 15 from the free throw line.
"A close game and it boils down to free throws," said Iampieri, whose squad misfired on 3 of 4 free throws in the final period.
Western Tech's Tabb made five free throws in the final 2:06 and Crowell connected on half of his six foul shots in the final period as they salted away the victory.
Scoring
Western Tech (63): James Handy 13, Andre Jackson 12, Keith Crowell 12, Cori Tabb 11, Tre Beverly 4, Khalil Edwards 3, Tyrell Laster 2, Coyet Goodman 2, Devin Gibson 2, Donald Imes 2.
Overlea (59): Gideon Whitacre 17, Deon Moore 16, Daren Alexander 13, Will Watts 5, Jeremy Sams 3, Terry Lawson 3, Derrick Gray 2.