After losing their first outing against Cedar Park Christian by a single point, the South Whidbey boys basketball team roared back with a 58-44 win over Washington High School on Wednesday.

But it took a while to get into the groove. The Falcons were down 23-13 at the first break and with Washington averaging 62.5 points a game, things looked bleak.

“Washington was an athletic team and it was a long road trip on a school night so our kids responded well after being down,” Falcon coach Scott Collins said.

Things perked up in the second quarter when 6-foot-3 forward Parker Barnett got the ball in the net early and often — he ended the night with a team-high

22 points.

Eric Stallman was second with 13 points for the Falcons and had several critical free throws in the fourth period.

“Eric was very productive for us. Overall, I was very pleased with their defensive effort after being down that far,” Collins said.

“Washington was a tough, physical team making the win that much better,” he said.

As for Barnett, he was just glad to be on a roll.

“I had a good night. I found a sweet spot inside the curve and they couldn’t generate much of a prevent defense,” Barnett said.

The Falcons are even at 1-1, rated second in the Cascade Conference among 2A schools. Undefeated 1A Coupeville visits Thursday, Dec. 13 for the first league contest.

Meanwhile, at 1:30 p.m. today, the boys meet the Friday Harbor Wolverines in Erickson Gym, the second part of a basketball double-header of sorts — the girls play at noon.

The Wolverines are led by six-year veteran coach Rod Turnbull and 6-foot-4 forward Tommy Fowler.

Fowler has been lighting up the courts this season filling the hoops, leading the break and rebounding with the best players in Friday Harbor’s division.