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After 15 days off and without a win in the past month, time healed all wounds for the Middletown High boys basketball team Friday evening. The Knights returned to the floor and edged out visiting Catoctin, 63-58.

"This just gives us confidence to go out there and know we can beat teams come playoff time," said Middletown senior guard Kevin Harris.

Middletown (8-10) hadn't taken the floor since February 4. The Knights last victory, 61-57 at Williamsport, came on January 19. Much of the past month has been spent assembling in gyms around the area whenever possible for informal shootarounds and workout sessions.

Nursing a 30-26 lead at halftime, Zach Fontenot helped Middletown pad its advantage with seven quick points during the initial three minutes of the third quarter. On consecutive possessions, the freshman guard cut through the lane for a bucket, then took a fullcourt feed from Harris for an easy layup. Moments later he put the Knights ahead, 37-29, with a 3-pointer, which caused Catoctin head coach Ryan Oman to burn a timeout.

The Cougars chipped away, returning the gap to four, 45-41, thanks to a pair of Derek Szabados free throws at the end of the quarter.

Once again Fontenot allotted his side some breathing room. After driving to the rim and hitting on an acrobatic layup, he collected the rebound off an errant Cougar effort and drove the length of the court for another basket and a 52-43 lead. Oman called another timeout.

Catoctin (6-11) continued to hang around. Kolby Maly pulled the Cougars within 61-58 on a pair of foul shots with 12.3 seconds remaining. But then Patrick Ryan closed out the victory with two made free throws. The Cougars missed a 3-pointer and did not foul as the clock expired.

"This was a big game to get us back in rhythm off the long break," Fontenot said.

Fontenot led all scorers with 22 points. Harris added 18, along with eight rebounds and two assists. Sam Glushakow hauled in six boards. Middletown struggled at the free throw line, going 21 of 38. The Knights only commited nine turnovers.

Nick Maxey paced the Cougars 16 points. Sean Reaver tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. Szabados added 12 points and two assists. Catoctin was 24 of 31 at the line.