Trailing 46-40 with only 2:07 left, the Creston boys nearly completed a furious comeback to avoid a second-straight defeat on Friday.

Creston’s Luke Neitzel put the finishing touches on a 24-point night with two free throws to get the Panthers within two at 46-44 with 43 seconds left. A Kuemper miss of a one-and-one free throw opportunity at :30 gave the Panthers a chance at a tying or winning basket.

With 24 seconds left, Creston coach Billy Hiatt called a timeout to set up his team’s offense. With no open shot attempt developing, he called another with 6.9 seconds remaining.