When the Mehlville and Lindbergh high school boys’ basketball teams met Friday night for their first Suburban West Confenence game of the season, fans were almost assured of a real barnburner.

They weren’t disappointed as host Mehlville defeated Lindbergh 56-52 in overtime.

The win broke a three-game losing streak for Mehlville (3-4, 1-0 Suburban West).

“It was an exciting win and really good for our guys,” Mehlville head coach Andy Guethle said. “It was good for us to not only win a conference game, but also a big-rivalry game.”

The loss for the Flyers (2-4, 0-1 Suburban West) was their third straight setback.

“We knew going in how important this game was,” Lindbergh head coach Jason Wolfard said. “Things really started coming together for us in the second quarter and we built up a nice cushion at halftime.

“We just let them get back into the game in the second half.”

Mehlville’s Kendrick Sharp led all scorers with 18 points. He also recorded five steals, four assists and two rebounds.

“Kendrick probably played one of his better games this year,” Guethle said. “He attacked the basket well and didn’t really take any bad shots.”

Eldin Dilberovic also scored in double figures for the Panthers with 11 points, and he had three rebounds and one steal.

“Eldin had a tough assignment defensively,” Guethle said. “He’s got good offensive skills. We just need him to be more physical out there.”

Jared Haenni and Michael Johnson both scored 15 points for the Flyers.

“Jared’s been giving us a lot of great minutes and has really been working hard at the post. Our players did a great job getting him the ball when he was open,” Wolfard said. “I think that Michael is starting to feel his shot and is playing with a lot of confidence right now. I’m really happy with how he’s progressing and he’s hit some big shots for us this season.”

Charley Mueller rounded out the trio of Flyers who scored in double figures as he recorded 12 points.

“Charley’s been pretty consistent for us from the start,” Wolfard said. “He’s really improved from last season on the junior varsity until now. We know that we’ll never have a letdown from Charley offensively.”

The Flyers return to action at 7 p.m. Saturday when they face Hazelwood Central in the first round of the Meramec Holiday Tournament.

“Hazelwood Central’s athletic at every position,” Wolfard said. “They have so many weapons and they’re so fast. What we’re going to have to do is get ourselves into a position to compete with them.”

The Panthers return to action at 5 p.m. Monday when they face John Burroughs in the first round of the Chaminade Christmas Tournament.

“Burroughs is a very well-organized team,” Guethle said. “They’ve very disciplined, so we’re going to have our hands full.”