Coach Kevin Hacker doesn’t like to get set in his ways. He tries to be open-minded and isn’t afraid of change.

At least not on the basketball court.

Hacker made some defensive changes in the second half that helped the St. Joseph Flyers beat the Wayne (W.Va.) Pioneers 55-48 Friday.

The Flyers were leading at halftime only to watch Neil Dillon score 12 points in the third quarter and rally Wayne to a 38-34 lead.

That’s when Hacker made his move.

“We made adjustments in the third quarter. We were able to go from one defense to another well and we haven’t been able to do that all year,” Hacker said.

The Flyers were playing short-handed and Hacker said the defense couldn’t play as aggressive as he wanted, but he noted the offense picked up the slack.

Michael Basedow scored 20 points and the Flyers shots 20 of 37 from the field.

Chad Harvey had 10 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Clay Crum grabbed 9 rebounds while Ryan Staton and Jerrod Laber had 8 each.

“We played pretty well, especially since we didn’t have Cory (Lewis) and Ryan (Schwab),” Hacker said. “Basedow shot the ball well and Chad Harvey did a good job.

“Laber, Crum and Staton did a nice job inside and A.B. (Alex Brown) and Caleb (Blackburn) came in and gave us good breathers when we needed them.”

Lewis is out with a sprained knee and Schwab missed the game due to an illness.

In the first quarter, Basedow and Crum scored 5 points each as St. Joseph took a 16-10 lead.

Harvey got 6 points in the second quarter and it was 28-20 at the break.

After Wayne rallied in the third quarter to take the lead, Basedow scored 9 points, Harvey got 4 and Staton hit 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to help seal the win.

“We ended up fighting back. We showed some character,” Hacker said.

Shawn Gilkerson had 17 points and Dillon finished with 12 for Wayne (0-1).

Wayne10101810=48

St. Joseph1612621=55

WAYNE (0-1): Shawn Gilkerson 7 1 0-1 17, Cory Perry 1 0 0-0 2, Jeremy Maynard 2 0 0-0 4, Neil Dillon 3 3 0-0 15, Joey Ferguson 0 0 2-2 2, Josh Meddings 3 0 0-0 6, Brandon Sutherland 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 17

4

2-3

48. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.

ST. JOSEPH (4-1): Chad Harvey 4 0 2-4 10, Michael Basedow 2 5 1-2 20, Clay Crum 1 1 1-2 6, Alex Brown 1 0 0-1 2, Ryan Staton 2 0 5-7 9, Jerrod Laber 4 0 0-0 8, Caleb Blackburn 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-37

(6-13)

9-17

55. Fouls: 6. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 14-26=40 (Crum 9, Staton 8, Laber 8). Assists: 3 (Harvey 3). Steals: 3 (Harvey 2). Turnovers: 13. Blocked shots: 3 (Harvey, Crum, Basedow).