No timeout, no hesitation and in the end, no doubt as Brendan Phillips nailed a game-winning 3-pointer Tuesday night at Golden Eagles Arena.

Aberdeen Central executed a final possession to perfection to claim a dramatic 64-62 win over fourth-rated Watertown in Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball action.

“I just got the ball. I was like, alright this is the time to win and I shot it,” said Phillips, who said he knew that shot was going in when it left his hand.

That shot salvaged a game in which Central led by as many as 17 points only to trail in the final minute before needing the last-second heroics.

“We played a lot of good basketball tonight,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “We played a stretch of very bad basketball and then we made one great play at the end. That was the key.”

Watertown had the ball up one with four seconds left on the shot clock after a timeout with 13 seconds left. Central played solid defense and got the miss it was looking for.

“Four seconds, if it wasn’t going to be a layup it was obviously going to be a tough shot,” Phillips said. “We just wanted to have a hand up and then we were able to get the rebound.”

From there, it was a race to the other end. Oliver Rife dribbled into the front court, passed to Parker Lemer, who spotted Phillips on the right wing at the last second.

“We switched everything and it worked out. We made them take a really tough shot, missed it, then we ran it down,” Norberg said. “Our plan was, if we get the rebound, I’m not calling timeout right away, I’m going to see what we have.”

With the clock ticking down, Lemer made a pinpoint pass to Phillips who drilled the game-winner.

“We needed a bucket, obviously,” Phillips said describing the final sequence. “Got the rebound and were able to push it, and Parker was able to find me wide open and I stepped up and was able to hit the shot.”

Lemer finished with five assists on the night, none bigger than his final one.

“Credit Parker, because Parker could have forced that shot one-on-one and he found a better one,” Norberg said, “a wide open one for Brendan and Brendan knocked it down, so a lot of good decisions on that last play.”

The final horn went off while the ball was in the air, so Phillips literally had no time to spare in getting the shot up.

“Credit him. I’ve been on that kid for two years about getting quicker on his jumper,” Norberg said, “and tonight that was one pretty quick, so we’ll take it.”

The final sequence saved a night in which Central built a 17-point lead in the second quarter, and still led by double-digits late in the third period. The Golden Eagles were still up 60-53 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, before a series of turnovers that allowed the Arrows to finally take their only lead of the game with 1:08 remaining. Both teams missed chances to score in the last minute, setting the up the final possession.

Phillips was mobbed by teammates after his game-winner.

“That feeling of them rushing me, jumping up and down, that was amazing,” Phillips said.

It capped a night that nearly ended in total frustration, before turning into a memory that will last a lifetime.

“It’s fun for the kids. They’ll remember that forever,” Norberg said. “You don’t win too many games like that at the horn, down one and make a shot. Hopefully, they enjoy that. I know I did.”

Lemer led the Eagles with 17 points and nine rebounds. Grant Fritz added 12, and Phillips finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Central, 5-4 on the season, hosts Tea Area on Saturday afternoon.

“I think we’ve beat them one time in this series, so we need to get them. They’re a good team,” Norberg said. “It’s a big power-point game, because they’re going to win a lot of games in Class A, so that would really boost us if we could get that one, because this one’s a big one for us as well.”

WATERTOWN (5-3): Dylon Rawdon 5 1-2 12, Caden Beauchamp 5 0-0 10, Kohen Kranz 4 4-4 13, Marcus Rabine 2 0-0 5, Jake Olson 4 4-6 15, Will Engstrom 1 5-6 7. Totals 21-48 14-18 62.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (5-4): Oliver Rife 1 0-0 2, Jett Carlson 2 1-4 7, Parker Lemer 8 1-1 17, Camden Fauth 3 0-0 9, Grant Fritz 3 5-6 12, Donnie Sodelund 1 0-0 3, Brendan Phillips 4 1-1 10, Cam Olson 2 0-0 4. Totals 24-46 8-12 64.

Watertown 13 20 39 62

Aberdeen Central 18 30 47 64

3-point field goals – Rawdon, Kranz, Rabine, Olson (3); Carlson (2), Fauth (3), Fritz, Soderlund, Phillips. Fouled out – Kranz. Total fouls – Watertown 11; Aberdeen Central 16. Rebounds – Watertown 22 (Beacuhamp 5); Aberdeen Central 29 (Lemer 9, Phillips 7). Turnovers – Watertown 10; Aberdeen Central 15. Assists – Watertown 12 (Kranz 4); Aberdeen Central 10. Blocked Shots – Watertown 1; Aberdeen Central 1. Steals – Watertown 8 (Rawdon 3); Aberdeen Central 4 (Lemer 2).