WARDSVILLE, Mo. - Trailing by 11 in the early stages of the third quarter, the Linn boys basketball team finally decided to do what it does best.
It paid off for the Wildcats, as they attacked the basket the rest of the game and rallied to claim a 52-48 win in overtime against Blair Oaks on Friday night.
Linn made just one shot outside of the paint all night - a 3-pointer for its first basket of the second half - and 17 of its 18 remaining baskets came on layups. The high-percentage attack finally wore down the cold-shooting Falcons.
"Scoring just 14 points in the first half, we never did really run much of an offense (Friday)," Linn coach Greg Koetting said. "I told them, "Just start attacking. See if we can get something before we have a chance to screw up the offense.'"
Blair Oaks took a 12-10 lead after a close first quarter when C.J. Closser nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Falcons then outscored the Wildcats 15-6 in the second quarter to take a 25-14 lead into halftime. That 11-point edge was Blair Oaks' largest lead, and it came when Kory Franks hit a 3 with :30 left before the break.
Another 3 by Franks for Blair Oaks' first basket of the third quarter matched the Falcons' biggest lead at 28-17.
But that would be the last one the Falcons would hit the rest of the game, going 0-for-5 the rest of the third quarter, 0-for-8 in the fourth and 0-for-4 in the overtime period.
Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said it didn't bother him the Falcons made just 5-of-29 3s. What did bother him was they took so many on a night where they made 13-of-30 2-point attempts.
"It's not good when half of your shot attempts come from behind the arc," he said. "We didn't get the ball inside against their zone enough."
The Wildcats made a run at the Falcons in the third, but Blair Oaks' lead was still 35-27 heading to the fourth.
That's when Linn mounted a 10-0 run to go up 37-35 - its first lead since 4-3. Blake Snyder finished off the run with back-to-back layups, doing just what his coach wanted.
"I kept telling them, "We're bigger than them. Take it to the hole. Take it to the hole.' They finally started doing it," Koetting said.
The Falcons tied the game twice before the Wildcats got a little separation at 43-39 with back-to-back layups from Daulton Niederhelm, and the score stayed that way until less than 40 seconds were left in regulation.
But the Wildcats hit just 1-of-5 free throws down the stretch and the Falcons finally tied it when Cody Alexander nailed two free throws with :03.5 left.
Linn turned it over on the ensuing possession and the game went to overtime.
"We tried to give it to them," Koetting said. "We also did that when we beat South Callaway. We played terrible in the fourth quarter, but we did make free throws that night. If we would have made free throws (Friday) it would have been easier."
The Falcons, who made just 6-of-27 shots in the third and fourth quarters, saw their troubles continue in overtime, where they made just 2-of-11 shots and lost when they got outscored 8-4.
"We wanted to push the tempo and could never really do it," Fick said. "And we couldn't ever turn them over in the halfcourt to get out for transition baskets."
Niederhelm racked up a game-high 18 points for Linn, which has won six of seven to improve to 9-8. Snyder added 15 points, while Niederhelm and Ben Klebba shared the team lead with seven rebounds apiece.
"I don't know how long it's been since Linn has beaten Blair Oaks, so this is special," Koetting said. "I was the assistant girls coach here for three years before I took the job at Linn, so I have good feelings about Blair Oaks, but I sure am glad to beat them on their home floor."
Owen Luebbering racked up a double-double for Blair Oaks, which dropped to 12-6, by scoring 13 points and pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Alexander just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds, while Franks chipped in with 11 points.
Blair Oaks returns to action Tuesday when it hosts Eugene. Linn also plays Tuesday when it opens the Southern Boone Classic against California.
In the JV game, Blair Oaks claimed a 47-35 win. Dylan Skinner had 14 points for the Falcons (12-1) and Jason Rackers added 10.
Blair Oaks won the freshman game by a 57-28 score as Brandon Sharp scored 13 points for the Falcons (11-4).