Staff photo / Dan Hiner Boardman players surround Jerry Smith, top center, as the team begins celebrating a win over Howland on Tuesday night. Smith hit the game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer at Howland High School.

HOWLAND — There was only 10.2 seconds on the clock, Boardman brought the ball up the court and it ended up in Jerry Smith’s hands.

Swish. Then the buzzer rang.

The Spartans held off a Tiger comeback to win 67-66 at Howland High School on Tuesday night.

“We just watched the replay,” Howland head coach Dan Bubon said. “We switched the ball screen great – the initial action they ran. And on the winning shot, the kid dribbled it to the wing, out to almost the corner, and dribbled in and stepped back and shot the three. Those are the shots we want people to try to take. And he just buried it.

“Right off the hand – I had a great shot at it – I was like, ‘Oh, God, that looks right on line.'”

Smith – an East transfer – finished with 11 points, with seven coming in the fourth quarter.

“The last month of the season, he’s really come on,” Boardman head coach Steve Flores said. “Things are starting to click with him on both ends of the floor. Defensively, offensively, he’s letting the game come to him.”

Kayden Mayhew was the go-to guy for the Spartans, leading all scorers with 28 points. Grayson Eicher added 11 points and Terrell McDowell tallied eight.

For Howland (8-10, 0-8 All-American Conference), Steven Bubon led the way with a team-high 24 points. Darren Douglas scored 14, with six coming in the fourth, and Carter Saul had eight points.

The Spartans (10-6, 3-3 AAC) executed offensively, especially in the second quarter. That helped them take a 40-29 lead at halftime.

The second half was a different story.

The Tigers looked like a different team. They started to see shots fall and the defense turned around.

The Tigers kept battling, and chipping away. They continued to push until they trailed 60-59 with 2:07 to play.

Anthony Cheffo kicked the ball out to Steven Bubon for a three with 1:30 to play for a 62-60 lead. It was the Tigers’ first lead since the opening quarter.

“Honestly, in the second half, we played so much better, just in this game today,” Dan Bubon said. “Our defense in the first half was one of the worst defensive efforts we’ve had all year. We completely turned it around in the second half.”

The Tiger run forced Boardman to call a timeout, and the teams exchanged baskets until the game was tied at 64 with 37.2 seconds to play.

Howland retook the lead when Saul was left alone under the basket. His layup put the Tigers in front with just over 10 seconds to play.

But there’s little a defense can do when a kid makes a difficult shot, especially at the buzzer, but Smith found a way.

“He’s patient,” Flores said. “In the fourth quarter, he made some shots for us, none bigger than the last one. He’s been a great addition to our team this year, and he’s a great kid.”