Aberdeen Central gained a measure of revenge in its final home game of the season Saturday afternoon at Golden Eagles Arena.

Central held off Watertown 49-44 for an Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball win after falling to the Arrows by 18 points earlier this season.

The Golden Eagles received key contributions on both ends of the floor from a variety of players down the stretch to help fuel the victory.

The contest was tight most of the way. Central used an 8-1 spurt to finish the first quarter with a 13-6 lead. Spencer Barr led the Golden Eagles with seven points in the period.

However, Watertown closed the gap and neither team could gain much momentum.

“I think both coaches would say it was just a grind,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “It was just a matter of who was going to make a few shots.”

The Arrows eventually tied the game at 20 in the closing seconds of the half before Barr knocked down a basket to give the Golden Eagles a 22-20 lead at the break.

“In the first half it was just back-and-forth,” Norberg said. “It was nice to give us a two-point lead to go into halftime. Two- and four-point leads in this game felt big.”

The third quarter began with a dry spell for both teams. In the first four minutes of the quarter, Watertown scored four points, while Central was held scoreless. Norberg said the team needed a boost to get out of its slump.

“We just didn’t have a ton of energy right away,” Norberg said. “I thought a huge key was Brian Johnson’s energy. He hadn’t played the whole game. We put him in in the third quarter when it was a tough spot, and he really gave us some energy that we needed defensively and on the glass.”

Johnson provided the energy the team needed, while Barr continued to lead the team in scoring. However, Watertown would not go away, trailing by just three points after the third quarter.

Central eventually broke the game open in the final period, extending its lead to as many as nine points with back-to-back 3-pointers by Jett Carlson and Carter Dingman. Norberg noted how big the buckets were late in the game for his team.

“Really what helped us is Jett making that three and Carter making a three,” Norberg said. “Both those guys are our second and third leading scorers. We need them, and when they do it, you see the team exhale.”

Central could not exhale completely as the Arrows fought back yet again, cutting the Central lead down to 47-44 before the Golden Eagles finished the game with one free-throw apiece from Carlson and Barr.

Barr led the Golden Eagles with 27 points and carried the team as he has done for much of the season.

“I don’t have enough words to describe him,” Norberg said. “Such a great teammate, such a great kid, but he’s carried us all year and we needed every bit of those points.”

Carlson added seven points to the Central total.

Watertown’s Dylon Rawdon scored 14 points, while Jake Olson had 11 points and six rebounds. Kohen Kranz added seven points.

The Golden Eagles (6-11) have one game left on the schedule as the team travels to Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Monday before playing in a SoDak 16 contest. Norberg stressed that the team needs to get rested up.

“Sunday we’re not going to practice. We’ve just got to get some energy, go down there, play one game at six o’clock, come back, and then try to get ready for Saturday,” Norberg said. “Our kids are tired. They need to rest tomorrow.”

Norberg also said the team should be confident going into Monday’s game after Saturday’s win.

“The confidence should be high after winning a game, so that’ll give us a better chance.”

WATERTOWN (7-13): Dylon Rawdon 5 2-2 14, Caden Beauchamp 1 2-2 4, Kohen Kranz 2 2-2 7, Marcus Rabine 1 0-0 2, Jake Olson 5 0-0 11, Jack Heesch 0 0-0 0, Will Engstrom 2 2-6 6. Totals 16-47 8-12 44.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (6-11): Carter Dingman 1 0-0 3, Karson Carda 0 0-0 0, Jett Carlson 2 2-4 7, Parker Lemer 1 0-1 2, Spencer Barr 11 3-4 27, Camden Fauth 2 0-0 4, Brian Johnson 1 0-0 2, Cooper Eisenbiesz 1 0-0 2, Grant Fritz 1 0-0 2. Totals 20-46 5-9 49.

Watertown 6 20 30 44

Aberdeen Central 13 22 33 49

3-point field goals – Rawdon 2, Kranz, Olson; Dingman, Carlson, Barr 2. Total fouls – Watertown 13; Aberdeen Central 12. Rebounds – Watertown 32 (Beauchamp 6, Olson 6); Aberdeen Central 31 (Carda 4, Barr 4, Johnson 4, Fritz 4); Turnovers – Watertown 9; Aberdeen Central 9. Assists – Watertown 8 (Rawdon 2, Beauchamp 2); Aberdeen Central 4 (Lemer 2). Blocked shots – Watertown 0; Aberdeen Central 5 (Lemer 2, Fritz 2). Steals – Watertown 7 (Rawdon 3); Aberdeen Central 5 (Barr 3).