OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Feb. 26, 2010 - Ogemaw Heights had a slim chance at catching Pinconning for a share of the North East Michigan Conference title on Friday, but Tawas Area didn't let the Falcons off that easily.

Not even with Whittemore-Prescott leading Pinny at halftime down the road. Tawas pushed the Falcons to overtime before the offensive well went dry for the Braves as Ogemaw escaped with a 53-47 victory.

Pinconning, however, tied up the league title by coming back to defeat W-P 72-57.

"We didn't come out with the same intensity as the last few games," said Ogemaw coach Jon VanOosten. "Tawas outhustled us and we didn't rebound very well."

The Falcons struggled with foul trouble as Anthony Zettel picked up two quick fouls that had him riding the pine and Robby Kish had three. The Braves' balanced scoring in the first half - D.J. Decker and Nick Schirmer each scored six and Jesse Siwek had five -- offset Justin Wejsa's 12 points as the teams broke at halftime tied at 25-25.

Ogemaw pulled ahead 36-30 after three quarters, but Tawas rallied to force overtime, with Travis Simmons hitting a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to tie it at 45-45.

In overtime, Kish hit 3-of-4 at the free throw line and the Falcons held the Braves to just two points for the win.

"Our free throw shooting saved us down the stretch," VanOosten said.

Wejsa finished with a game-high 23 points, with Alex Jennings adding 14 for the Falcons (16-2, 8-2 NEMC).

Simmons topped Tawas (9-9, 4-5) with 16 points and Decker added 14.