OGEMAW HEIGHTS - Feb. 5, 2010 - Ogemaw Heights was on the verge of a celebration, and Pinconning looked ready to buckle.

And while the Spartans did indeed wobble for much of Friday's first-place NEMC showdown with the Falcons, they managed to shake off several weeks of uninspired by coming back from a 13-point deficit over the final 12 minutes of play to shock Ogemaw 47-45. The victory allows Pinny to reclaim sole possession of the league's top spot while the Falcons drop a game back.

Pinny coach Tim Floyd, celebrating his 40th birthday with the win, wasn't sure what to expect after last week's loss to Standish-Sterling ended a nearly two-year long NEMC win streak.

"I was really wondering how we'd play," he said. "And after that first half there was good reason to wonder. We hadn't played well in three weeks. This is a big step, so hopefully we can take care of business the rest of the way."

If the Spartans take care of business the way they did in the second half, particularly the final two minutes, they could be onto something.

"I told the guys at halftime to try to get it down to five points by the end of the third quarter," Floyd said. "Then we'd just see what happens."

Ogemaw led 31-18 at the half and still held a 35-22 edge midway through the third quarter. But the Falcons' Anthony Zettel and Alex Jennings each picked up their third fouls in short order, and while Ogemaw coach Jon VanOosten alternately shuffled them in and out of the game, Pinny went on a 9-0 run to cut it to 35-31.

Just as Floyd had ordered, the Spartans trailed by five -- 38-33 -- heading into the final quarter. James Perry's 3-pointer on a ball that hit the back of the rim and went high above the backboard before dropping through the net cut it to 40-36, but Alex Jennings' 3-point play made it 43-36 with four minutes left.

But if anything, it was the final two minutes that did in the Falcons. A pair of turnovers and two missed layups set the stage for the Spartans' final, improbable comeback.

"We had our opportunities," VanOosten said. "We missed a lot of easy shots and we didn't handle their pressure very well. We didn't respond with good decisions. We feel like when we execute we should win these games, and we didn't."

A Falcon turnover set up Casey Pashak for a 3-pointer that cut the Ogemaw lead to 43-42 with a minute left.  Thirty seconds later, following an Ogemaw miss, Dylan Marquiss drilled a triple from the corner for the Spartans' first lead of the game at 45-43.

The Falcons again turned the ball over, but after Travis Garbulinski missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left, Lucas Foco won a battle in the corner with Zettel for the rebound, tipping the ball back to Pashak under the basket for the game-clinching layup.

"Lucas really came out with a lot of energy in the second half," Floyd said. "He attacked the basket, made some big shots and some other big plays."

Pashak paced the Spartans (10-3, 6-1 NEMC) with 12 points, with Marquiss and Perry adding eight each.

The Falcons took it to the Spartans in the first half, jumping to a 20-9 lead even as Zettel and Foco both picked up their second fouls in the opening minutes.

The loss overshadowed Jennings breaking the school career blocked shots record, snuffing out about a half-dozen shots in the game to surpass the previous mark of 115.

Justin Wejsa led the Falcons (10-2, 5-2) with 14 points, 12 coming in the first quarter which ended with him hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Jennings added 11.

"Hopefully we'll learn from this situation," VanOosten said. "We need to take the next step so next time we're in a game like this we're more successful.

"It's a tough loss for the team and the fans."