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For their first time on the court this season, the No. 6 Rome Wolves took a while to find their rhythm.
And while they did hit a few sour notes down the stretch, the result was that same old tune that fans had come to know by heart.
With only two practices including all 12 players due to most of the varsity roster being on the football team, the Wolves came together to overtake an early lead from Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe at home Tuesday night and win 66-60
The game was the first Region 7-AAAA contest for both teams.
“With this group, there’s a lot of pressure because everybody knows how talented they are,” assistant coach Kent Howard said. “But getting those guys out of football and getting them to mesh in two days is a difficult process.”
Howard was acting as head coach Tuesday since Keeth Jones was out of town on family matters. Jones is expected to return Saturday when Rome hosts Dunwoody.
After falling behind 16-10 in the first period, the Wolves (1-0, 1-0 in 7-AAAA) were able to regroup in the second, going on a 12-8 run to close out the first half and lead 31-29 at the break.
Rome increased their lead to 50-39 going into the fourth period before LFO (3-3, 0-1) stepped up its pacing in the final eight minutes to pull within four with 17 seconds left.
The Wolves’ senior center, Tony Woods, went 2-for-4 in the final seconds and Rome held off any further offense from the Warriors to take the win.
“I told them that good teams win close games,” Howard said. “I’m thrilled to death. I’m proud of them.
“I think we are a good team but I think we could be a great team.”
Woods led Rome with 16 points and JaMalcolm Griffin and Terrell Burley each posted double-digit performances. Griffin, who was sidelined with a knee injury during football season, had 15 and Burley 10.
“I felt alright,” Griffin said. “I didn’t think I would do as well as I did but we did pretty good for our first game.
“In the second game, we’ll play better and we’ll play harder. I’m looking forward to it.”
LFO was led by a strong performance from Chris McNeely, who hit five 3-pointers and led all scorers with 31 points.
“I knew they were going to be the more experienced team, in terms of game time,” Howard said, adding that he expected his players to be “just a little bit rusty.”
The Wolves were 12-of-25 at the line but were vindicated by their steals and rebounds.
“The thing we really want to do is go (back) to state,” Griffin said. “That’s our main goal. First, you’ve got to go game by game. Don’t worry about the future, just worry about the game you’re playing now.”
Rome is on the road Friday for a region contest with Gordon Central.
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