After needing four games to get its first victory, Warren East needed less than 24 hours to claim victory No. 2.

Tashawn Neal scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Raiders were able to hold on to upset Owensboro Catholic 54-50 in the Rafferty’s South Warren Shootout on Saturday at South Warren High School.

A night after scoring 28 in a win over South Warren, Neal hit seven 3-pointers to push Warren East past one of the top teams in Region 3, led by former Warren Central coach Tim Riley.

Warren East coach Brandon Combs was an assistant under Riley at Warren Central during the Dragons’ first two region titles from 2001-03.

“I have the utmost respect for coach Riley and what he has done as a coach,” Combs said. “He has won everywhere he’s been. I told the kids to enjoy this victory all weekend and then we will come back Monday and get to work. This is a huge win for our program. As each game goes, we are getting a little more acclimated, a little more experienced.”

Owensboro Catholic (4-1) jumped out to a 16-5 lead behind 10 points from Luke Hayden before Warren East (2-3) started to chip away.

Neal closed the quarter with three 3s in the final three minutes to cut the deficit to 20-17, with the Raiders eventually sneaking in front 23-22 after a three-point play by Treante Patterson with 4:48 left in the half.

Thomas Maxey’s jumper extended the advantage to three points, but Owensboro Catholic regained control with a 7-2 spurt to close the half that made the score 30-27 Aces.

“They were up 8-0 and some of us got our heads down, but I was like, ‘We have to keep our heads in the game because it is early,’ ” Neal said. “We just went out there and played our game.”

Neal came out hot in the third quarter with three 3s during a 16-5 run that allowed Warren East to surge in front 43-35.

Owensboro Catholic came roaring back in the fourth, pulling in front 50-49 on a layup by Hayden with 32 seconds remaining. Patterson connected on a pair of free throws to give the lead back to Warren East on the next possession and Patterson added another free throw with 12 seconds left to make the score 52-50.

The Aces had a chance to win, but Hayden missed a 3 with two seconds left. Neal secured the rebound and Maxey hit two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to seal the victory.

“We got the stop when we needed,” Combs said. “We still made some silly turnovers late. We still have a ways to go, but we are making steps in the right direction.”

Patterson, Maxey and Adante Barber all joined Neal in double-figure scoring with 10 points each.

Hayden led the Aces with 21 points, while J.D. Marshall added 13 points.

Warren East returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, hosting Allen County-Scottsville.

“We let it become a halftime game, then we let it be a quarter game, then we let it be a two-minute game,” Riley said. “They took the lead in the fourth quarter and they made it tough. We had a big win last night (against Apollo) and we proved that it is hard for us to bounce back.

“That is a big win for (Warren East), simple as that.”

OCHS 20 10 8 12 – 50

WEHS 17 10 18 9 – 54

OC – Hayden 21, Marshall 13, Ballard 5, Reid 4, H. Riney 2, Survant 2, Vincent 2, A. Riney 1.

WE – Neal 24, Barber 10, Patterson 10, Maxey 10.