MORAVIA - The IAC, Division III title was on the line on Saturday, and the Union Springs boys basketball team was in trouble against Marathon.

Trailing by 13 with a mere 10 minutes left in the game, the blizzard of 3-point attempts that the Wolves were taking kept falling short, long or wide.

That is, until Josh Tratt hit a three with 1:55 left in the third quarter. And all of a sudden, shots - threes or otherwise - were finding their marks for the Wolves. It continued up until the final buzzer, when Union Springs completed a 22-point turnaround to defeat Marathon 62-53.

It is the Wolves' first division title in five years. Union Springs (14-5) will go on to play the winner between Spencer-Van Etten and Candor in the first round of the four-team IAC tournament Wednesday at Horseheads.

"I think we kind of wore them down a little," said Union Springs coach Tim Darnell. "We forced a lot of turnovers in the fourth quarter and got some easy baskets."

The Wolves forced 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"We're not even getting (the ball) over to get shots," said Marathon coach Chip Stewart. "Our shooting percentage in the first half was really good, and in the second we're not even getting a shot."

When the Olympians had the ball, they couldn't seem to catch a break. After shooting lights out in the first half, Marathon failed to score even 20 points in the second. Even when the Olympians were fouled, they couldn't capitalize - they missed the front end of all of their three one-and-one opportunities.

The Wolves were able to pounce on the misses. Marathon only had three offensive rebounds in the third quarter, and none in the fourth.

"It was just Pat (Crowley); mostly he was getting all the rebounds," Tratt said. "We were diving on loose balls - we were just all hyped up because we were coming back."

Union Springs shut down Marathon's top two first half scorers; Jeff Landers and Justin Tallett. The pair combined for 25 of the Olympians' 34 first-half points, but were held to five in the second.

The Wolves' offense was struggling in the beginning of the third quarter. Union Springs began to rely on the 3-pointer, launching 11 shots before they were able to settle down and get back into their game plan.

"We have guys that can hit threes," Darnell said. "When we go inside-out first, we're more successful. They (the Wolves) started to do that. Whether it was off penetration or actually getting it inside, it opened up some of our outside shots."

By the time Marathon was able to slow Union Springs' momentum, the score was 55-51 in the Wolves' favor. The Olympians were forced to foul, and the Wolves made 9-of-14 shots in the last two minutes.

Tratt was 5-of-8 and Bryan McClary, who had nine points to go along with three fourth-quarter steals, was 3-of-4 (Pat Crowley made 1-of-2).

Tratt led the Wolves with 17 points, and McClary had 14. Tim Paoff added 10.

"The kids are fighters," said Union Springs coach Tim Darnell. "They never give up. They're tough. This is the most close-knit team I've ever coached; at Clyde (Savannah, where Darnell used to coach) or here. They just refused to lose the game."

Staff writer Michelle Prego can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 258 or citizensports@lee.net