Lone Tree blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead in just three and a half minutes, but then allowed just two points over the final 4:23 in a 51-49 win over Columbus on Wednesday. 

Cade Shield hit the go-ahead free throws as Lone Tree swept the season series with the Wildcats.

The Lions were trailing by one, and desperate for a basket, when Alex Viner drove the ball towards the elbow, drawing the attention of the defense. His bounce pass found Shield cutting to the basket to end the 14-0 Wildcat run with about three minutes left.

It would be Lone Tree's only field goal of the fourth quarter. 

The Lions were behind 49-48 when Shield drew a shooting foul with a minute remaining.

“I just drove to the basket,” Shield said. “I wanted to be in that position and I just had to shoot with confidence.”

He made both and the Lion defense shut the door.  

“We did a good job in that last minute, at least getting the lead and keeping the lead,” Lone Tree coach Tom Squiers said. “And I thought defensive rebounding in that last minute and a half was key.”

He was less happy with the way the Lions took care of the ball while protecting a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter.

“We just don't know how to win. We start getting really tentative and turning the ball over. We had 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter again tonight.

"I think we’ve just got to keep playing basketball. We just get away from doing what made us successful. We start thinking too much.”

Lone Tree had 28 total turnovers.

The Lions took a 46-33 lead with a 7-0 run over the last 45 seconds of the third quarter.

Lone Tree had turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions before Cade Patterson hit a 3-pointer to make it 42-33. Adam Knock found Patterson with a long pass for a score in transition. Then Patterson drove to the middle and lobbed to Tyler Bell on the baseline for a reverse layup that beat the buzzer to put the Lions ahead by 13.

Bell led Lone Tree with 15 points on 7-9 shooting with 11 rebounds. Patterson had 12 points and four steals and Shield scored eight.

While Lone Tree has just two wins over the last seven games, the Lions have been competitive in each of them, with an average margin of -3 over that stretch. Lone Tree's average point differential during an 0-11 start was -21.

Seniors Alex Viner, Aiden Forbes, and Nick Floyd have all been out for basketball for four years, while Zach Dominguez started playing as a sophomore. All four were in the starting lineup for the final home game on Wednesday.

“They're a great group of guys,” Squiers said. “They're good kids in school, they're good role models. They get good grades, and they work hard.”

Viner finished with six points, three assists, and three steals on senior night. He led the Lions in both steals (43) and assists (41) over the regular season. Forbes led the team in 3-pointers with 18. Floyd made his first and only 3-point attempt of the season on Wednesday.  

“I thought it was big that Nick Floyd starts and then hits that three at the top of the key when we were down 2-0,” Squiers said. “That was big for him. Zach Domingues got to start, and you know he's a kid that works awful hard and doesn't miss many practices. And then you’ve got Alex Viner and Aiden Forbes, they've been out for four years. And it was just a great way for them to end their career – with a win on their home floor.”