DeSoto ? Santa Fe Trail High couldn’t stop DeSoto’s Brown brothers Tuesday night — and it probably was a good thing the Chargers didn’t need to.

Instead, Santa Fe Trail overcame the combined 36 points from Danny and Ryan Brown by holding the Wildcats to just two points in the third quarter, which secured its first victory of the season, 53-45.

“We were kind of doubting our confidence after letting a close one get away from us against Wellsville in our opener,” said SFT coach Brian Luther. “But tonight we fought with confidence and battled through our bad spells.”

That the Chargers did, because their “bad spells” were nearly as daunting as the Wildcats.

Holding a 14-6 lead after the first quarter, Trail committed eight turnovers and attempted just four shots in the second quarter, allowing DeSoto to quickly bounce back on top 21-18 with 1:22 to go in the half.

But the Chargers came up big in their final two possessions of the half and took a 22-21 lead on senior Cameron Babb’s putback with a second on the clock.

“The ball just kind of fell into my hands,” said Babb, who scored a team-high 16 points.

The bucket started an 18-2 run that mostly took place over the next two quarters. It was a stretch that Santa Fe Trail, which limited DeSoto to two points on 1-of-9 shooting during the third, would desperately need because the Brown brothers again became hot.

Ryan, a 6-1 junior guard who transferred from Olathe South, scored the Wildcats’ only points in the third and paired with his sophomore brother, Danny, for 18 points in the fourth.

Ryan’s steal and layup with 2:20 to go cut Trail’s 13-point lead to 44-40.

“We have guys who can score,” said DeSoto coach Jason Generally of the two Browns, who scored 18 points apiece. “Ryan and Danny, that’s what they can do.

“Unfortunately we went through a costly drought in the third and couldn’t get things going enough late.”

The Chargers closed out DeSoto’s last-ditch effort by breaking the Wildcats’ press for easy layups and clinching victory from the free-throw line.

“Our young guys are starting to mesh,” said Babb, who along with senior Shane Miles, are Trail’s only returning players with much varsity experience. “We knew all night we were going to hold on and win. We just had to execute there, like we did in the third.”

Santa Fe Trail 53, DeSoto 45

Santa Fe Trail (1-2) 14 8 10 21- 53

DeSoto (1-2) 6 15 2 22 – 45

Santa Fe Trail — Shane Miles 9, Rob Musgrave 8, Jay Shively 12, Shawn Conklin 6, Cameron Babb 16, Jake Carter 2. Totals 20 (2) 11-15 53.

DeSoto — Josh Arnold 1, Danny Brown 18, Graham Power 6, Ryan Brown 18, Pete Crall 2. Totals 18 (4) 5-10 45.