Washtenaw Christian Academy likely couldn’t have feared a more sluggish start.

The Wildcats had just allowed Calvary Christian Academy -- a team the Wildcats had beaten by more than 30 points twice during the regular season -- to string together an 8-0 run and pull in front midway through the first quarter of Monday’s Class D boys basketball district opener.

Not only that, Washtenaw Christian’s leading scorer Kevin Stout (17.7 points per game) couldn’t seem to find his offensive rhythm.

But minutes after falling behind, the Wildcats retooled on both ends of the floor, countered with a 15-0 run and kept the Cougars in the dust for a 59-32 win at home. Stout turned it on in the second half, scoring 12 of his 15 points.

“We were working the ball pretty good in the first half,” said Stout, “but in the second half the ball was coming back to the top of the key to me so I could penetrate after the defense shifted. We adjusted so I came up to the middle and I got more open from there.”

Washtenaw Christian (7-12) advances to the semifinals against Eastern Washtenaw Multicultural Academy (5-11) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Wildcats beat EWMA by 19 in late February.

Igniting the Wildcats in the first half were Mathias Donat and Bob Clements. Donat pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds along with six points, while Clements finished with a game-high 17 points and added six boards.