Boys’ Basketball

Sherburne-Earlville 51, Mount Markham 46

WEST WINFIELD – A furious comeback over the final two minutes allowed Sherburne-Earlville to clinch just its second division title in 25 years, Thursday night at Mount Markham.

Down 45-38 with two minutes to play, S-E finished the game on a 13-1 run to secure the top spot in division one of the Center State Conference. “The kids really fought through, and it was a great win,” said S-E coach Kevin Vibard. “The kids really wanted to clinch the division tonight.”

It was spotless offensive play combined with lock-down defense that led to the late S-E rally. Jesse Yerton hit a three ball drawing the Marauders to within 45-41 with two minutes left. One possession later, Randy Briggs provided the reward for a defensive stop pumping in a trifecta to slice the margin to one. Another defensive hold later, Yerton gave S-E the lead for keeps sinking a trey with 50 seconds left.

The Mustangs’ only answer was a single free throw with 34 seconds left. Down the stretch, Sam Caton and Paul Romanenko canned 4-of-4 from the foul line.

“They were really packing in their zone and daring us to shoot outside,” Vibbard said. “We had not made a lot of shots before then, but we have some good shooters, and we want our shooters to shoot.”

Caton and Yerton each had 12 points apiece for S-E (11-3), who host Ilion on Tuesday.