BROOMFIELD, Colo — Standing atop the Tri-Valley League standings entering this week were No. 3 Berthoud and No. 7 Holy Family.
So that made Thursday night's tilt between the Class 4A girls basketball teams even more crucial.
It was an evenly-matched game that ended with a 49-44 win for the Tigers, who dealt the Spartans their first loss of the season (12-1, 5-1 TVL).
The victory lifted Holy Family (8-4, 5-0 TVL) atop the league standings with its sixth victory in a row.
"It's a really big deal for us to win a game like this because it will help us further down the line with home-court advantage (in the playoffs)," said junior center Cecelia Aanerud.
Perhaps the top play of the game belonged to junior guard Dylan Sanders, who drained a halfcourt buzzer-beater just moments before halftime.
"They didn't come up on me on defense, so I just thought I'd go for it," Sanders said. "I saw that it was going straight on. I was just happy I made it. It was surprising to me."
Watch the extended video above and see the highlights on the 9NEWS Prep Rally on Saturday morning.