BELPRE, Ohio — Hitting free throws down the stretch usually leads to victory.

The Belpre boys basketball team hit 8-of-9 from the charity stripe in the fourth period to seal the 61-54 Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division victory over South Gallia in Washington County.

Belpre (11-9, 11-4 TVC Hocking) took the early lead with a 15-to-13 run in the opening stanza, but South Gallia (5-16, 3-12) answered with a 10-to-7 spurt in the second to take the one point halftime edge.

The Golden Eagles regained the lead after halftime, as they out scored SGHS 15-to-13 in the third period. The Rebels had their best offensive quarter of the night in the finale, as they scored 18 points, led by Brayden Greer with 12. BHS had an answer however, as the Golden Eagles scored 24 in the fourth to claim the 61-54 victory.

Greer led the Rebels with 17 points on the night, followed by Ethan Swain with 15 and Landon Hutchinson with 11. Kody Lambert chipped in with nine points, while Michael Wheeler rounded out the SGHS scoring with two.

South Gallia went 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from the line and hit five three-pointers on the night. Lambert hit a trio of three’s for the Rebels, while Greer and Swain each drained one triple.

The Golden Eagles were led by Dakota Hoffman with 22 points, 11 of which came in the fourth period. Brennen Ferrell marked nine points, while Bryce Pittenger and Nick Therriault each had eight points. Ryan Leasure added seven points, Sam Petty contributed four and Austin Forshey rounded out the BHS total with three points.

On the night Belpre shot 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the line, while connecting on six triples. Ferrell made three three-pointers, Hoffman had two, and Forshey connected on one.

Belpre also defeated South Gallia in their first meeting of the season, on January 8th by a count of 49-45 in Mercerville. The Golden Eagles also swept SGHS last season.

The Rebels have now lost six consecutive games. Belpre is still in the hunt for a a co-league title but the will need to defeat visiting Waterford Friday night and have Federal Hocking lose at Trimble.