Don't look now, but the Yerington High boys basketball team is right back in the Northern 3A championship race.
Dylan Johnson and Jeremy Means knocked down key free throws inside the final 30 seconds as the Lions held on for a 58-55 victory at Spring Creek Monday afternoon in a makeup game.
The Lions (7-4, 16-5) have won three straight games over a span of four days to move from the middle of the pack into sole possession of second-place in the division.
"Winning at Spring Creek and playing three games in four days, this was a very big game for us," said Yerington coach Daron Wildermuth, whose Lions knocked Spring Creek out of first-place Saturday with a 61-48 win at home.
Spring Creek opened the game with a field goal, but that was the only time Yerington trailed. The Lions led by as many as seven points, then held on at the end as their final seven points came from the free throw line. Johnson and Means were both 2-for-4 at the line at the end and Scott Veil sank a free throw to give Yerington a 58-52 lead.
Johnson finished with 17 points and Means 12 for the Lions, who visit Dayton on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of basketball to be played the next two weeks," Wildermuth said. "We could finish anywhere from first to eighth in this race."
The division-leading Spring Creek girls ran to a 94-28 win in their game against Yerington.
