WARDSVILLE -- Wednesday night had a familiar feeling to it for the Blair Oaks Falcons.
Too familiar.
Two nights earlier, the Falcons had a fourth-quarter lead slip away and lost in overtime to the Eugene Eagles.
Blair Oaks let the lead slip away again Wednesday against the Capital City Cavaliers. This time, however, a baseline jumper by Hudson Moyer gave the Falcons the lead for good, as they were able to hold on for a 63-61 win at Blair Oaks High School.
“It started to feel like Monday night, a little bit, as the fourth quarter unfolded,” Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. “We were just a little bit better tonight than we were Monday night, and that’s what you want to see.
“You want to see improvement.”
Gallery: Capital City Boys Basketball at Blair Oaks
Blair Oaks led by as many as 10 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Capital City erased that lead in a hurry.
Hayden Carroll and Brooks Horton hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Cavaliers, making the score 51-47 with 5:50 to play.
“In practice, we harp on being in a spot to make the play, and trusting that your teammate is going to make the play,” Capital City coach Darrin Young said.
Playing from behind the whole game, Capital City shot 11-of-33 from 3-point range.
“We rely on the 3-ball a lot, unfortunately,” Young said.
Colby Gates scored a basket off a steal for Capital City, then Horton and Nehemiah Hamilton both drove to the basket and scored layups, capping a 12-2 run and tying the game at 53 with 3:02 to play.
The Cavaliers had a chance to take the lead, but Dylan Hair got a steal and scored a layup to put the Falcons back in front.
Hair, who did not play Monday night for the Falcons, finished with 11 points off the bench in his season debut.
“He’s another ball-handler with experience on the floor,” Fick said. “Having that tonight was good.”
Moyer made 1-of-2 free throws to give Blair Oaks a three-point lead, but Aman Kesete answered with a 3 on the other end for Capital City, tying the game again at 56 with 1:39 to play.
On the Falcons’ next possession, Moyer had the ball in the right corner, took a dribble and knocked down a baseline jumper with 1:21 on the clock, putting Blair Oaks back in front.
“It was not an easy shot,” Fick said of Moyer’s only field goal of the game. “That was a huge shot for him to take, to have the confidence to take that shot.
“He had three points tonight, but what he’s got to understand is they were a big three points.”
Capital City didn’t score on its next possession and was forced to foul. Blair Oaks made 5-of-8 free throws in the final 30 seconds.
“We were able to hang on and hit enough free throws down the stretch to salt it away,” Fick said. “We took care of the ball a little bit better tonight.”
Hamilton made a 3 just before the buzzer to make the final margin a two-point game.
“Blair Oaks played hard tonight and they did a really good job of finishing possessions,” Young said. “… We definitely had our chances, for sure. Now it’s just a matter of being able to finish games like that.”
It was a much better start for Blair Oaks, which led 14-6 after one quarter. The Falcons never trailed.
“We got off to a slow start Monday against Eugene and spent the entire first half and early third quarter playing catch-up,” Fick said. “We really emphasized trying to get off to a better start.”
Capital City committed nine turnovers in the first quarter and five more in the second.
“Those little lapses of focus, that’s the deciding factor there,” Young said. “You’ve got to be solid each and every single possession.”
Zach Henry scored 10 straight points in the second quarter for the Falcons, who went into halftime with a 30-25 lead. Henry finished with 30 points, giving him 88 points in Blair Oaks’ first three games.
“Zach has done a great job for us so far,” Fick said. “He’s the guy who is back with experience and leadership, who can go get us a bucket.”
Blair Oaks led by as many as 12 points late in the third quarter, but Horton and Shaun Adams both scored baskets in the final 20 seconds of the quarter for the Cavaliers, cutting their deficit to 49-41.
Gates and Hamilton each scored 13 points for Capital City and Hayden Carroll came off the bench to grab a game-high 14 rebounds.
The wins and losses haven’t shown it, but Young is pleased with the improvement he has already seen from his team’s guard play and toughness.
“From game No. 1 to game No. 4, we’ve gotten a lot better in that area,” he said. “That gives me hope going forward.”
Both teams are back in action Saturday in the Blair Oaks Winter Showcase.
Capital City (1-3) opens the four-game event with a contest against Grandview at 1 p.m.
Blair Oaks (2-1), ranked No. 4 in Class 4, then hosts Republic at 2:30 p.m.
In Wednesday’s JV game, Capital City defeated Blair Oaks 53-36.
Brendan Rackers led the Falcons (2-1) with 20 points.