It was a night of firsts for coach Ray Hartsfield's East Chapel Hill Wildcats Friday night as they defeated the Jordan Falcons 61-59 in front of a clamorous home crowd.

It was the team's first home victory of the season.

It was the first win in PAC-6 competition for the East boys (7-6, 1-4), bringing them to 1-4 in conference play. And it was one of the first times all season that the team showed poise down the stretch to hold on to a close victory.

"We've been in every ball game," Hartsfield said.

"We can compete in this league. They're finding that out now."

Aaron Law agreed.

"We started losing close ones," said Law, who had another stellar night for the Wildcats with 22 points. "We needed this one."

Jordan (8-6, 3-2) seemingly could not miss from beyond the arc in the first half. The Falcons sank five three-pointers before halftime. They finished with six.

Law answered the Falcons' flurry of three-point baskets with big shots of his own, hitting two treys. Randall Davis did his part, as well.

Hitting one big three-pointer after another, Davis ended the night with 18 points, including three three-pointers.

Jordan's strong Omari Watkins presented problems for the undersized Wildcats by grabbing offensive rebounds and putting in high-percentage baskets down low for 13 points.

Watkins had eight first-half points, and East Chapel Hill found itself down five at half, 34-29.

At halftime, Hartsfield preached defense to neutralize the Falcons' three-point percentage and size.

"We talked about the fact that they had open looks," Hartsfield said. "We had to defend with our feet across the line."

After asking his guys to defend farther out, Hartsfield saw his team only allow one three in the entire second half.

The Wildcats also stuck with their press, and toward the end of the third quarter, a handful of turnovers gave way to East Chapel Hill going on a 7-0 run.

Jordan answered with a 5-0 run, but then bounces that had been going its way all night started to go East's way. Hartsfield credited his team's hustle for that.

"You have to compete. You have to at least go after it," he said.

And the Wildcats did go after it. They found themselves closing in, and, finally, with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter, they took their first lead of the night on a bucket by Peter Daaleman.

East Chapel Hill had the game in their hands, but had to survive a poor free-throw performance.

"We want them to foul us," Hartsfield said. "We're 68 percent on the year with our free throws."

However, Ray Hartsfield Jr., Law and Davis struggled to put the game away at the line, and the Falcons inched closer to snatching away the win. Law fouled Joreal Bennett with eight seconds left in the game on a three-point attempt. Bennett made two free throws to get Jordan within two points, 60-58.

After the teams swapped free throws, Jordan advanced the ball to half court with one second left in regulation. T.J. Thorpe missed a what would have been game-winning three as the horn sounded.

The Wildcats have won four out of their last five games in a year of on-the-job learning so far. They won three straight last weekend in Sanford to take the Chatlee Shootout title, in what some could hope would be a foretaste of post-season play.

"We are taking it one game at a time," Law said.

"We are not thinking about the conference [title] yet. But when it comes, we will be ready."

Jordan20141312-- 59

ECH14151517-- 61

JORDAN: Major 2, Bunton 5, Harris 5, Thorpe 13, McCullers 5, Blue 2, Bennett 12, Watkins 13, Selig 2.

ECH: Law 22, Hartsfield 3, Alston 2, Daaleman 7, Davis 18, Heine 5, Cotton 4.

Wildcat girls bounce back in overtime

CHAPEL HILL -- The East Chapel Hill girls' team overcame an 11- point deficit in the fourth quarter en route to a 53-49 defeat of Jordan in overtime Friday night.

The Wildcats (9-3, 4-1) turned Kisha Evans loose in the fourth quarter to get the win and bounce back from a loss to powerful Hillside in the PAC-6 opener for both teams on Tuesday.

Evans scored eight straight points over a two-minute stretch Friday and delivered a big bucket in overtime. Evans ended the game with 20 points.

"We started off a little rusty," Evans said. "Then we played the best defense I've ever seen us play."

The Wildcats would not have been in position to without the third quarter turned in by Hannah Elledge.

Elledge, who ended the night with 13 points, scored eight in the third quarter to help negate a big quarter from Falcons' star Kristin Lyon. With her quick slashes, Lyon blew by the Wildcats for nine points in the third and finished with 19 for Jordan (8-6, 1-4).

ECH had the ball last in regulation, with the score at 45-45, but could only muster up a 40-foot prayer that failed as the buzzer sounded.

Aileen Savino, who had a game-changing steal in the fourth quarter, came up big in overtime as she sank the free throws that solidified a victory for East Chapel Hill.

"She's a sophomore, and she plays as a senior," Evans said of Savino.

Jordan11101864--49

ECHH81013148--53

JORDAN: Lyon 19, Stankavage 1, Smith 8, Bunn 2, Cooper 1, Mukenge 12, Anderson 6.

ECH: Elledge 13, Savino 12, Couper 6, D. Graman 2, Evans 20