With the game tied at 56, Joey Sprinkle made a the front-end of two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in regulation completing an 11-2 finish in the final five minutes as the Sages rallied past Pontiac 57-56 in a thrilling high school boy's basketball matchup from Pontiac High School.

In a game heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, the Sages trailed 54-45 with 5:04 left in the fourth quarter after the Indians opened the final quarter on a 9-0 run but Monticello and its senior-led group never waivered against a young Indians squad. Ben Cresap scored seven of the final 11 points for the Sages and forced a couple of key turnovers late in the game.

Pontiac sophomore Riley Weber stepped up and buried a pair of free throws to tie the game at 56 with 44-seconds left and the Sages held for a final shot.

After a timeout with 18-seconds left, Pontiac doubled Cresap on the inbound and he passed from the left wing to Triston Foran in the left corner. Foran drove to the block and found Sprinkle under the basket and a late rotating Indians defense could only foul the Sages big man with 2.8 seconds left.

After Sprinkle missed the back-end of the two-shot foul, the Indians called a timeout immediately on the rebound. 

Inbounding from under the Monticello basket and the length of the court to go, Sprinkle tipped the inbound pass on the denial and the ball never crossed center court with the clock expiring and Monticello escaped with a tough road victory.

The Sages shot 45-percent for the game while Pontiac shot 42-percent. The Indians went 10-for-22 from distance as the three-point game was where they were most successful. The Sages struggled from distance Tuesday going just 5-for-16. 

Pontiac outrebounded Monticello 31-26 and turned nine offensive rebounds into 8 second-chance points while the Sages also scored eight second-chance points on six offensive rebounds.

Ben Crespap recorded his first career double-double and was two assists shy of the first triple-double in Monticello school history. He had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and added eight assists to only three turnovers. 

As a team, Monticello had 14 assists on its 22 baskets and only seven turnovers for the game. 

Tanner Buehnerkemper added 13 points for Monticello, all in the first half.

The Indians were led by sophomores Kerr Bauman and Henry Brummel with 15 points apiece and Logan Barnett had a double-double for Pontiac with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 

Sprinkle finished with nine points for Monticello. 

The Illini Prairie thriller featured nine ties and 13 lead changes.

Pontiac had a three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 14-12 overall and 5-3 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

The Sages have won four straight improving to 24-3 overall and are 7-1 in the Illini Prairie.

Tuesday night's game was the final road game of the season for the Sages. They host Champaign St. Thomas More Friday night at 7 pm followed by a Saturday matchup against Decatur St. Teresa and then finish out the regular season at home next Tuesday night hosting Tolono Unity for a 7 pm finish.

Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.