Free throws help lift Lions to key Northern 3A win

For the second night in a row, accurate free throw shooting down the stretch helped propel Yerington High School to an important victory in what has developed into a wild Northern 3A boys basketball race.

Dylan Johnson shot 5-for-5 from the line in the fourth quarter - 11-for-13 overall, and he finished with a game-high 24 points - as the Lions scored a 61-48 victory at home Saturday afternoon against division-leading Spring Creek.

Yerington (6-4, 15-5) outscored Spring Creek (6-3, 11-8) 22-11 in the final period to break open a close game. The score was tied 25-25 at halftime and Yerington led 39-37 at the end of three quarters.

The story was similar Friday night when Yerington shot 12-for-13 from the line during a 20-9 run through the fourth quarter en route to a 53-41 win over Lowry.

"It was the same thing. We got up by six with about four minutes to go, we took care of the ball, they had to foul us, and we made our free throws," Yerington coach Daron Wildermuth said. "We're starting to knock those shots down and I hope that continues because you can win a lot of games by making your free throws."

The Lions made 34 of 46 free throws on Saturday. By comparison, they were a combined 32-for-79 (41 percent) from the line in successive losses against Lowry, Sparks and Incline last week.

Jeremy Means also scored 10 points for Yerington, including 8-for-10 at the line.

Defensively, senior guard Mikey Burt gave another strong performance as he held Spring Creek's talented James Edwards to six points. The night before, Burt held Lowry's Howard Ceballos to seven.

And now, Yerington is back in the thick of a Northern 3A race in which one-half game separates the five top teams.

"That's great parity," Wildermuth said. "I think it's been like that in our league for some time. Before, you had Manogue (now 4A) and Rite of Passage (now 2A), but the rest of us were always real close. Now, this is a league where anybody is capable of walking in and beating anybody else on a given night. I think you could finish first in this league, or you could finish eighth."