STANDISH-STERLING - Feb. 3, 2010 - Alcona boys basketball coach Seth Coffing encouraged his team before the game to take advantage of its underdog status at Standish-Sterling on Wednesday.

The Panthers, coming off their huge win at Pinconning last Friday and looking forward to another big NEMC clash at Tawas Area this week, wouldn't be "up" for the 3-8 Tigers.

"It was," said SSC coach Tom Murray, "our 'Pinconning hangover.'"

The Panthers weren't at the top of their game, and the Tigers refused to buckle, but SSC simply managed to hold on for a 54-46 victory.

"We'll take any win we can get," Murray said. "Alcona played hard. When you miss 20 free throws and probably 10 layups, you're not very focused."

Alcona's only lead came at 2-0, but the Tigers never let the Panthers' breathe easy. SSC took an early 11-2 lead as Alcona struggled to contain Cole Walderzak early -- the 6-8 center scored all 11 of those points. But the Tigers came back from a 21-9 deficit early in the second quarter to get within 24-21 shortly before the half, and after SSC pulled out to a 39-23 lead in the third quarter, Alcona got to within six early in the fourth quarter and to within five with 18 seconds left.

"We figured after beating Pinconning they might not be at their best," Coffing said. "But the fact they beat Pinconning after the way they played against them earlier this year shows how much they've improved.

"Tonight and last night (against Whittemore-Prescott) was probably as consistent as we've played all year. If we can play with that consistency the rest of the way I like where we'll be."

The Panthers' Dylan Williams came off the bench to score 14 points, including six in a 10-2 run that put SSC up 21-9 early in the second quarter, and two baskets at the end of the half that made it 28-21.

After Walderzak picked up his third foul midway through the third quarter, Alcona came back as as the Tigers got points from five different players during a 10-0 run.

Alex Cole hit a pair of treys in the final minute to keep the Tigers within range of the upset, but Tanner Trombley hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. Before that, the Panthers had been just 9-of-27 from the line at the game and finished 14-of-33.

"We need to have the mentality that we're going to play hard and focused every game," Murray said. "We've had some teams in the past that could get away with not doing that, but this isn't one of them. We need to come out with a lot of emotion every night."

Walderzak led the Panthers (9-4) with 18 points.

"When you play Standish, you really need to focus on (Walderzak)," Coffing said. "I thought after the first quarter, we did a better job fronting him, especially Braden Yokom. But it was a team effort defensively, we rotated well, and we didn't give up a lot of offensive rebounds.

Cole finished with 17 points and Brock Lavergne had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (3-9).