SANGER — When told he had just finished scoring 40 points in a double-overtime thriller against Pilot Point, Sanger’s John Johnson stepped back and had a look of confusion on his face.

The sophomore sensation didn’t think his point total was correct.

DRC/David Minton

Sanger’s John Johnson, center, goes up for a basket while being defended by Pilot Point’s Aaron Buckingham, right, and Logan Johnson during a basketball game on Tuesday at Sanger. The Indians won, 72-70, in double overtime.

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“Forty? Oh wow. Oh my lord. Wow. Really?” he said. “I thought I had 20 or 25. That’s a lot of points.”

And his last two were the most critical.

The smooth-shooting guard hit two clutch free throws with 2.8 seconds left in the second extra period to help get him to his career high in points and lift Sanger past a pesky Pilot Point team, 72-70, at Indian Gym.

The two shots from the charity stripe came moments after Johnson stole the ball and was fouled in transition.

Sanger (9-3) head coach Rob Sikora was pleased his best shooter, who hit 16 of his 17 shots from the line for the game, was at the charity stripe at that point in the contest.

“He is probably the best free throw shooter in the district,” Sikora said. “I think he shoots better under pressure. And that is something you can’t coach. He came up big.”

Johnson also had some earlier heroics in the game to help the Indians pull off the afternoon win.

It came after Pilot Point (5-7) missed two free throws to keep the score at 55-52 with 7.4 seconds left in regulation.

Johnson then took the inbounds pass near his three-point line, took three dribbles, took a step back and drilled a 30-foot 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime.

“He got hot when it mattered,” said Pilot Point head coach Danny Baggett. “He was pretty big for them.”

Johnson credited his teammates and his after-school practice for helping him get the shot off and into the net.

“My teammates spaced out good and whoever was guarding me backed off a little bit, so I went ahead and shot it,” he said. “Shots like that are what I dream about whenever I am in my backyard shooting. I never thought it would happen.”

His work wasn’t done after regulation.

After the Bearcats took a quick 59-54 lead in the first overtime, Mr. Clutch was at it again by hitting two more treys sandwiched around a transition layup to help send the game into the second overtime tied at 63.

He went on to score 15 of Sanger’s 17 points after the fourth quarter.

“I love the pressure,” he said.

Pilot Point never had a lead in the second overtime, but it also never went away.

The Bearcats trailed by as much as five points before Aaron Buckingham’s 3-pointer in the corner knotted the score at 70 with 20 second left.

Then 10 seconds later the Bearcats had possession of the ball again with a chance to win the game, but Johnson stole the ball, was fouled and hit both free shots to seal the win before Pilot Point’s last second half-court heave came up short.

“It was a great game and it was one of those where it could have gone either way,” Baggett said. “You have to give credit to Sanger for getting it done.”

It was, however, a game the Bearcats could and should have won. They had a 10-3 advantage after the first period before losing the lead in the second quarter. Then after a see-saw battle in the third frame, the Bearcats built a six-point lead with 30 seconds left in regulation.

But Pilot Point hit just 10 of its 19 free throws in the fourth quarter and Sanger’s Tyler Smith had a clutch three-point play with 21 seconds left to help set up Johnson’s big time shot to end the fourth.

“I loved our effort,” Baggett said. “But free throws hurt us in the end. If we hit those in the fourth quarter we win.”

The Bearcats finished 22-of-34 from the charity stripe. In contrast, Sanger was 27-of-36 from the line for the game and 20-of-24 after the third quarter.

“We made a lot of free throws down the stretch and that kept us in the game,” Sikora said. “We were aggressive, went to the rim, got fouled and made our free throws.”

The loss spoiled a nice day from Buckingham and Svane, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively for the Bearcats. Along with Johnson, Smith scored in double figures for the Indians. He finished with 20 points.

MATTHEW MUENCH can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mmuench@dentonrc.com .

Sanger 72, Pilot Point 70 (2OT)

Pilot Point (5-7) – Aaron Buckingham 19, Hunter Svane 17, Jarman Johnson 9, Bruce Randle 8, Mike Pelzel 6, Brandon Boerner 4, Wes Heitzman 4, Logan Johnson 2, James Scoggins 1.

Sanger (9-3) – John Johnson 40, Tyler Smith 20, Collin Crutsinger 3, Hayden Smith 3, Colt Carlton 2, Hunter Higgs 2, Ryan Hooper 1, Dev Surati 1.