Addison Brown and Niah Sims brought more than their on-court skills when they rejoined Warren Mott’s girls basketball team after a successful volleyball season.

“We were captains of the volleyball team and we’re trying to bring that same energy to the basketball team,” said Sims after the Marauders clipped Warren Woods Tower 65-61 Friday in a battle for first place in the Macomb Area Conference Silver Division.

“We’re here to uplift everybody and work as a team, just like volleyball.”

Warren Mott won the MAC Silver in volleyball with a 9-1 record and now they’re atop the basketball standings at 4-0.

“Addison and Niah are ultimate competitors,” said Marauders coach Pat Schmidt. “They both have older brothers who were excellent athletes and very competitive. That’s where it kind of comes from. They’ve made it exciting.”

Warren Woods Tower was the better team in the first half and the Titans took a 33-26 lead to the locker room.

The Marauders started the second half with a 19-2 run and Sims scored nine of the points. Sims’ second 3-pointer in the spurt gave Mott a 45-37 lead.

“We didn’t play our best basketball in the first half,” Schmidt said. “We kind of got after them at halftime but all the credit goes to the girls. They came out, picked up the defensive intensity, played smart with the basketball and did a great job. I’m very proud of them.”

Brown, who combined with Sims for 36 points, was playing with a heavy heart after her grandmother died earlier in the day.

She said the Marauders’ mindset changed in the second half.

“We had a change mentally,” she said. “We have good teammates who look out for each other. Physical skills are important but the mental really takes over”

WWT was down after the Warren Mott run, but the Titans were far from out.

A four-point play by Gabby Lewis started the WWT comeback. A 3-point basket by April Williams tied the game at 53-all with 5:43 left in the fourth quarter and a free throw by Layla Unger put the Titans back in the lead.

There were three more ties and two lead changes before a layup by Conamora Ndana put the Marauders ahead to stay with 2:07 remaining.

Sims fouled out with 4:41 to go, but Brown made up for her absence with seven of her game-high 19 points in the last 3 1/2 minutes. She also got some key rebounds and set up teammates with her passes.

Three-straight baskets by Unger in the final minutes kept Warren Mott from pulling away.

Brown secured the win with a free throw with 3.2 seconds remaining and foiled a plan by Titans coach Phil Bowen.

“I had a play dialed up for a 3-pointer if she had missed that, but she made it,” Bowen said. “We’ll save it for the next time we play them.”

Bowen had nothing but praise for his team after the heartbreaking defeat.“I told them ‘I’m not disappointed, sad or angry because you guys played your butts off,’” he said. “I can’t ask for anything more than that. It was one of those games where a couple plays went their way and not ours. It could have easily been us celebrating in the locker room and them with their heads down. I told them if they play like that all the time we’re in great shape.”

Sims finished with 17 points, Leajah Ferguson scored 10 and Allison Phillips added seven points for Warren Mott, 8-4 overall.

Lewis and Tazaria Hill led Warren Woods Tower with 16 points apiece and Unger finished with 12. The Titans slipped to 2-2 in the MAC Silver and 6-5 overall.