Aberdeen Christian overcame a first-half deficit and held on for a 36-34 non-conference boys’ basketball win over Waverly-South Shore on Saturday at the Civic Arena.

Despite getting the win, Knights coach Aaron Moeller said the game left him, as well as the fans, on the edge of their seats.

“This is one of those games where you feel like you’ve got to go visit your cardiologist when it gets over,” Moeller joked. “What a great game for the fans, though; a really exciting game. We needed a game like that where it was close; to win one where you have to have a little bit of poise, show some maturity as a team, as I felt like we did that, so that was really encouraging.”

During the first half, the Waverly-South Shore 2-3 zone defense made open shots difficult for the Knights, something Coyotes coach Joe Dalton said is a staple for his team.

“Our 2-3 is usually pretty salty,” Dalton said. “It’s kind of been our bread and butter for several years. Everybody knows that’s what we play.”

Aberdeen Christian looked to work the ball into the post to Joey Johnson and Konnar Furman, but Furman credited the Waverly-South Shore defense for limiting the opportunities to do so.

“We just couldn’t find me down there,” Furman said. “They were pretty big, so it was tough.”

Meanwhile, the Coyotes offense was able to get looks at the basket for much of the first half, using a balanced scoring attack that included junior Sam Appelhof scoring six points in a row to keep the road team ahead. Waverly-South Shore was able to take the momentum and an 18-10 lead into the halftime break.

“They weren’t closing out on us and we were able to just knock them down,” Appelhof said of the Coyotes first-half shooting.

However, the game changed in the second half as the Knights defense allowed just three Waverly-South Shore baskets in the third quarter, while the offense also began to hum, scoring 15 third quarter points, including a 9-0 run to end the quarter. Moeller said the difference between the first and second halves was simple.

“The things that we weren’t hitting in the first half started to fall in the second half,” Moeller said. “The shot chart really didn’t look any different from the first half to the second half, it’s just the second half, those ones that were right around the rim started to fall for us.”

While the Knights were having second half success, the Coyotes were having the opposite effect, which Dalton said was the result of foul trouble and Aberdeen Christian’s hot shooting.

“We had to do some subbing,” Dalton said. “That kind of put us in a hole and Aberdeen had two nice threes that shortened the lead and we kind of puckered a little bit. Our big guy was on the bench in foul trouble, so that hurt us.”

After the teams traded leads early in the fourth quarter, Johnson gave the Knights the lead for good, scoring a basket on a foul, and then converting the ensuing free throw. It was his second old fashioned 3-point play of the quarter, which gave Christian a 34-32 lead with just over two minutes left.

Both teams traded points in the final minute, and with the Knights leading 36-34, the Coyotes had one last chance to win the game. However, the Aberdeen Christian defense stiffened by denying Waverly-South Shore a quality look, with Johnson blocking the final shot attempt at the buzzer to secure the win.

Appelhof described the plan for the last play.

“Just trying to get a three-point look when we were down,” Appelhof said. “But they were taking away that, which props to them.”

Appelhof led the Coyotes with 12 points, while Brady Eschen had 10 points.

Waverly-South Shore (8-4) hosts Arlington on Monday, the first of a four-game week for the Coyotes.

“We’ve got four games in six days,” Dalton said. “We’re going to have to lick our wounds and move on and get a little rest, and hopefully finish decent this week.”

Joey Johnson led the Knights with 19 points, while Becker Bosma had 8 points. Furman finished with six.

Aberdeen Christian (5-4), which has now won its fourth consecutive game, will look to continue its winning streak on Tuesday when the Knights travel to North Central.

Furman said the team will need to continue to work together to keep the success going.

“Just go back to the gym, keep working as a team, grow stronger as a team,” Furman said. “Hopefully win the next one.”

WAVERLY-SOUTH SHORE (8-4): Colton Kranz 1 0-0 2, Sam Appelhof 4 1-2 12, Zach Ries 2 0-0 4, Cody Thompson 3 0-0 6, Brady Eschen 5 0-0 10. Totals 15 1-2 34.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (5-4): Becker Bosma 3 1-2 8, Konnar Furman 3 0-0 6, Joey Johnson 7 4-4 19, Jett Johnson 1 0-0 2, Luke Kaiser 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 6-10 36.

Waverly-South Shore 10 18 25 34

Aberdeen Christian 6 10 25 36

3-point field goals – Appelhof (3); Bosma, Joey Johnson. Total fouls – Waverly-South Shore 13; Aberdeen Christian 7.