LANCASTER – Big 3s and clutch free throws helped the Danville boys get another big district win.

The Admirals trailed for almost all of regulation Tuesday night before rallying to force overtime and then pushing their way past Garrard County in a second overtime for an 87-83 victory.

Caden Hill hit scored 10 points in the two overtimes and sank five of six free throws in the final 1:23 to help Danville reach the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2004-05 season, when the Admirals finished 22-7.

Hill’s 3-point basket early in the second overtime gave Danville (20-2, 4-0 45th District) an 80-75 lead, and his free-throw shooting foiled Garrard’s plan to put him on the line late in the game.

The senior guard had hit 8 of 8 free throw attempts through the Admirals’ first 16 games, but the Golden Lions intentionally fouled him once late in the first overtime and three times in the final minutes of the second overtime, reaching for him in the backcourt or well away from the basket.

He made six of eight free throws in all, the last two of which gave Danville an 85-81 lead with 26 seconds to play.

Charles Jones’ layup pulled Garrard (8-11, 1-4) within two points, and the Lions had a chance to tie after Damion Givens-Ford made one of two foul shots for Danville with 3 seconds left, but Braden Sebastian’s 3-point shot missed the mark and Darrian Bell secured the Admirals’ win with one more free throw on the other end.

Sebastian had done plenty to put Garrard in position to win, following his 44-point performance in an 89-82 loss at Danville 18 days earlier with 47 points in this game, including 18 in the fourth quarter and eight more in the extra periods. He was 12 for 21 from the field and 20 for 25 at the free-throw line.

DeShaud St. Martin scored 16 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime for Danville, which clinched a tie for first place in the 45th District standings. The Admirals hold a two-game lead in the loss column with two games to play in the race for the No. 1 seed in next month’s district tournament.

The Admirals came roaring back after scoring only seven points in the third quarter, posting 31 points in the fourth period. They trailed 62-54 with 2:51 left in the fourth after Garrard scored eight straight points, but they scored nine of the next 10 points and tied the game on a Trey Dawson 3-pointer with 47 seconds left.

It was the first time Garrard had not held the lead since the Lions scored the game’s first basket.

St. Martin sank a jumper from the top of the lane to give Danville its first lead at 65-64 with 28 seconds left. Sebastian put Garrard back on top with two free throws at :11, and Bell tied the game when he sank one of two foul shots after drawing a foul on a rebound at :02.

Hill and St. Martin hit 3s in the first 2:20 of the first overtime to help the Admirals take a 74-70 lead, but they managed only one more point in the four-minute period.

Garrard’s Brock Milburn forced a second overtime when he hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 75-all with 36 seconds left.

Hill scored 16 points, Zach Thornton had 13, Dante Hayden had 12 and Dawson had 11 for Danville, which bounced back with its second-highest point total of the season after scoring only 30 points in a loss to Shelby Valley on Friday in the All “A” Classic quarterfinals. St. Martin had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Milburn scored 14 points for Garrard, and Sebastian had 12 rebounds.

Girls

Danville 85, Garrard County 45 – Coach Judie Mason said Danville (17-4, 2-1) went back to work on fundamentals after its first-round loss in the All “A” Classic, and Garrard (4-21, 0-5) paid the price.

The Lady Admirals effectively ran the Lady Lions off the floor before halftime, scoring only one less point in the first half (53) than in all four quarters of its loss to Murray a week ago.

“I was upset with our fouls because I thought that slowed us up, but we played hard, we tried to do the right things, we got them in a running game and put them under early,” Mason said.

Ivy Turner scored 26 points in the first half and finished with 36 points to lead Danville. Turner went 15 for 27 from the field and also put up 10 steals, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Lady Admirals took the day off after the Murray loss, and Mason said the following day she employed the same practice plan she used on Oct. 15, the first day of preseason practice, and practiced every day through Monday.

“Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals,” Mason said. “After the All ‘A’ there’s a letdown, and you can either let it be a letdown or you can build on it, and hopefully we’re going to build on it.”

Garrard kept it close for most of the first quarter, but a 9-0 run that included six points by Turner gave Danville a 25-11 lead early in the second quarter, and the Lady Admirals were off and running.

They scored the last eight points of the first half and the first 10 of the second to take a 63-30 lead, and they led by as many as 47 points in the fourth quarter.

Lara Akers scored 13 points and Jenna Akers had 11 for Danville, which has won its last 16 games against Garrard since a loss in January 2012.

Madisyn Neeley had nine points and Jade Pevley had eight rebounds for Garrard, which committed 29 turnovers.

BOYS

Danville 12 28 35 66 75 87

at Garrard County 17 34 43 66 75 83

DANVILLE (20-2) – Zach Thornton 13, Caden Hill 16, DeShaud St. Martin 19, Dante Hayden 12, Darrian Bell 7, Trey Dawson 11, Damion Givens-Ford 1, Tevin Kavanaugh 2, Ethan Wood 6.

GARRARD (8-11) – Brock Milburn 14, Brice Burkhart 4, Hudson Cornett 7, Braden Sebastian 47, Charles Jones 9, Ethan Wall 2.

GIRLS

Danville 20 53 77 85

at Garrard County 11 30 38 45

DANVILLE (16-4) – Lara Akers 13, Jenna Akers 11, Ivy Turner 36, Ahyana Burnett 9, Madison Terrell 4, Amber Wheat 2, Tyliah Bradshaw 2, Desiree Tandy 8.

GARRARD (8-11) – Jade Pevley 6, Hallie Martin 4, Madisyn Neeley 9, Morgan Day 4, Brittany Butner 7.