Opportunity called. The Braves answered.

Flathead junior George Sherwood shot 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 43 seconds and the Braves held on to defeat Missoula Sentinel 47-41 in a tight Western AA boys basketball game on Friday.

Sherwood, who finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, had a game-high 16 points and four rebounds, Joe Pistorese scored 10 in limited action and the Braves snapped a two-game skid at a critical point in the season.

"Sentinel's a good team and they got after us and tried to create some problems but I thought we weathered the storm really well," Flathead head coach Fred Febach said. "That's a big, big conference win for us at home."

Flathead hiked its record to 4-3 in conference and 8-6 overall to remain in fourth place with only three weeks left in the regular season.

"We stayed calm and hit some free throws and put it away," senior starter Scotty Keller said. "I thought it was a good win. We played some good defense and we stopped Riley (King) and came away with the W."

Flathead nearly let this one slip away after Sentinel overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter and tied the game at 40-all with 1:20 left.

But the Braves repelled the comeback, forcing a turnover and drawing the first foul of a few. After Sherwood sank his four-straight shots, senior Mike VanArendonk went 2-for-2 and Matt McLean went 1-for-2.

"You just have to take advantage of the opportunities you did get. And I thought overall we did a pretty decent job of that," Febach said.

"We're letting some opportunities slip through our fingers," Sentinel head coach Craig Matosich said. "Our effort is great, but when it's time to make a play we just don't get it done. And that's a little bit frustrating because we're better than that."

Three days after Glacier started Sentinel's week off with an agonizing loss, the Braves ended it in similar style. Flathead's defense sullied the Spartans' offense and their leading scorer all game, limiting Sentinel (8-8, 5-3) to just 26 percent shooting from the floor as a team. King finished with 12 points, but no other Spartan reached double figures.

"We tried to change it up as much as we could defensively to try to keep them off balance. I don't know if either team was really able to settle into anything on offense," Febach said.

Flathead was also a little flat on offense, but mustered just enough down the stretch. With Pistorese, the team's leading scorer and point guard, lost intermittently throughout the game due to foul trouble and eventually for good early in the fourth, the Braves needed to seize every opportunity they could. And they did.

McLean, who finished with five points, turned in an impressive performance at the defensive frontcourt and also notched a three-point play down low to give the Braves an 8-point lead with five to go. Sophomore Garth West went 3-for-4 from the line and finished with five points and Ian Gillespie sank a three en route to five also.

"I think it builds confidence," Febach said of the victory. "I think that helps build team confidence and trust in one another, which is huge at this point in the season. Because teams right now are going to start scrambling conference-wise because they know every game is huge."

Missoula Sentinel 7 15 8 11 - 41

Flathead 10 11 15 11 - 47

SENTINEL - Alec Bray 2 4-8 9, Brad Corntassel 1 2-2 5, Nate Jewett 1 1-3 3, Derek Colberg 2 2-2 7, Riley King 5 2-3 12, Fischer Worden 2 1-2 5. Totals 13 12-20 41.

FLATHEAD - Mike VanArendonk 1 2-4 4, Matt McLean 1 3-5 5, Ian Gillespie 2 0-0 5, Joe Pistorese 5 0-0 10, George Sherwood 5 6-6 16, Shea Schroeder 1 0-0 2, Garth West 1 3-4 5. Totals 16 14-19 47

3-pointers - Sentinel 3 (Bray, Corntassel, Colberg), Flathead 1 (Gillespie); Rebounds - Sentinel 42 (Corntassel 9, King 9, Bray 5, Jewett 4, Worden 3, Zach Murphy 3), Flathead 22 (Sherwood 4, VanArendonk 4, Gillespie 3); Turnovers - Sentinel 15, Flathead 10; Steals - Sentinel 7 (Bray 3), Flathead 8 (Sherwood 2); Fouls - Sentinel 18, Flathead 22; Fouled out - Pistorese, Schroeder.