Wayne Christian boys claim 1st win of the season

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 4, 2013 1:47 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

Wayne Christian overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit and rallied for a 48-45 win over Carolina Christian 1-A Conference foe Lee Christian on Tuesday evening.

The Eagles claimed their first win of the season and just their second overall in the past two years.

"I think our guys needed a win to get some confidence," Wayne Christian head coach Roger Longwell said. "I challenged them to come out and take the lead back in the third quarter and it all started on the defensive end. They earned this win."

Wayne Christian built a 7-6 lead after one quarter. Lee Christian got its offense going in the second period and led 26-17 at halftime.

The Eagles made a subtle defensive change in the second half and stormed back into contention using a full-court press.

"We started out playing a 1-2-2 full-court trap and it really wasn't working," Longwell said. "So we went back to the 2-1-2 with Micah (O'Hara) pressuring the ball that we used the first couple games of the season and we started to get some turnovers."

Austin Howell gave the Eagles the lead for good on a critical 3-pointer with four minutes to play. Wayne Christian made the 42-39 advantage hold up at the free throw line in the final minute.

Howell paced the Eagles' offense with 21 points, including 18 in the second half. Ben Sawyer and Tanner Rose each added eight points in the win. Kanin Preskit grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with his six points.

Wayne Christian bested Lee Christian 41-31 on the glass as a team.

Garrison Weaver led the Falcons' with 18 points. Noah Thomas tallied a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Wayne Christian (1-4 overall) travels to CCC foe Northwood on Friday.