MARIETTA, GA -- Four seconds into the biggest regular high school game of the season, Wheeler set the tone for what would be a back-and-forth, punch and punch back match-up with Miller Grove.

Senior Elijah Staley took the opening tip all the way to the rim for a thundering dunk that brought an already excited Wheeler fanbase to the tips of their toes and their voices to another octave. Just like that, the Wildcats were off and running.

They never looked back in a pairing of two of the elite programs in all of the Southeast. Wheeler held off a couple of Miller Grove surges to claim a hard-earned 63-52 win on Saturday night.  

Wheeler never relinquished the lead despite several runs that brought Miller Grove within as few as three points. The Wildcats always had a counterpunch. Staley would have a big dunk. Or Daniel Giddens would score in the paint. Jaylen Brown would have a put back score. Jerron Love or Avery Patterson would force a Miller Grove turnover.

There was always something to frustrate the Wolverine attack.

"It was a good start but they made their run and we went on another spurt. I think in the third quarter we had four turnovers and that didn't help us at all," Wheeler coach Doug Lipscomb said. "We battled back and I'm very proud of the effort our kids gave."

Brown was outstanding in the victory, scoring a game high 22 points and ripped down 13 rebounds.

"Every game we try to give the people what they pay for," Brown said. "We have one of the best teams on paper so we try to live up to the hype, I guess."

The hype was met with production in the first quarter. Miller Grove just could not score in the paint. Giddens played a man on a mission and blocked several shots in the paint. The opening 10-0 run was the pace run that held throughout the game.

"It was huge. It set the tone for the game. We wanted to come out aggressive," Brown said. "We wanted to feed into the crowd and give us energy to carry us over the top and we did."

Staley scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the win. Perhaps what won't get noticed in the box score is the defensive production from Jerron Love. He helped keep Keith Pinckney under 10 points and forced the Tulane bound guard to three of 17 shooting in the game.

Miller Grove head coach Sharman White said Wheeler's length wasn't what knocked his team out of sync.

"I don't think it was their size. I really don't. It was our transition defense. We gave up 22 points in the first half in transition. Twenty two points," White said.

Miller Grove had a good game from sophomore point guard Alterique Gilbert, who scored 21 points while senior James Walker added 13 in the defeat.

For Wheeler, the win was nice. There's no debating that. But a win is a win, Brown says.

"This is just another game. It is a sweet win. Just like we beat Roswell last night, we just beat Miller Grove tonight," Brown said. "We have a bigger goal than just winning and losing games. We want to try and get better every game."