A 12-0 fourth quarter-opening spurt sparked the Oita HeatDevils to a 73-59 road win over the Rizing Fukuoka on Thursday.
With the win, Oita improved to 1-2 and gave first-year coach Tadaharu Ogawa his first taste of success at the helm.
Power forward Jeffrey Price, who played for the Rizing last season, scored a team-high 24 points and pulled down 18 rebounds for Oita.
David Reichel scored 11 points, James Wilkinson and Daisuke Kimiduka had 10 apiece and Kimitake Sato added nine for the HeatDevils.
For Fukuoka (0-3), forward Michael Parker scored 23 points and gabbed 18 boards.
Point guard Jun Nakanishi, making his season debut after returning from a major knee injury last December, scored 12 points in the loss. Nakanishi's return will give Fukuoka coach John Neumann more flexibility in his backcourt rotation.
In a low-scoring game, the teams were tied 28-28 at halftime. The HeatDevils led 48-47 entering the fourth quarter.
Oita secured the victory by outscoring the hosts 25-12 in the final quarter.