Gwynn Park boys' basketball coach Mike Glick always reminds his team to be ready for any contingency, but even he was unprepared for this loop.

The Yellow Jackets, scheduled to play Zebulon B. Vance High School from Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday in the first round of the Maryland National Hoops Classic, instead found out hours before tipoff they would be squaring off against Washington, D.C.'s Eastern High.

The Vance team was stranded in Charlotte by snow. Despite the last-minute switch, Gwynn Park earned a 69-55 victory.

The Yellow Jackets (4-2) face host Wise (5-1) in the semifinals of the tournament at 9 p.m. today. Wise beat Baltimore County's Perry Hall, 66-49, in Tuesday's nightcap.

In the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. today, Archbishop Carroll faces Riverdale Baptist.

"We prepared for three days to play Vance, doing all man-to-man stuff," Glick said. "And Eastern plays zone. The best-laid plans of mice and men ... "

Another change for Gwynn Park: The Yellow Jackets usually have senior forward Tion Barnes in the lineup, but with Barnes sidelined by the flu for much of the week, senior Nick Walton stepped into his place.

Walton scored 16 points, behind only teammate Brandon Ford's 19-point outing, and added nine rebounds.

Walton said he was not nervous about the change.

"Coach prepares us for everything. He always puts us in that type of situation in practice," Walton said. "He said it was my time to shine."

Gwynn Park did not shine much early. Eastern held a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and the Ramblers (2-6) were up 32-29 at the half.

The Yellow Jackets took control in the third quarter, scoring 22 of the period's first 24 points. A free throw from Ford 83 seconds into the quarter tied the game at 32, and his 3-pointer with 6:08 remaining put Gwynn Park up for good.

Gwynn Park built up a 16-point lead before Eastern roared back toward the end of the quarter and cut the deficit to just 12. The Yellow Jackets were able to ward off the challenge, leading by as many as 20 points before garbage time.

Barnes, coming off the bench, scored 11 points for Gwynn Park. Senior forward Kevin Miles added 10 points.

Trey Patterson scored 13 points to lead Eastern (2-5), which was playing its first game in 11 days.