Darrian Reed knows how important free throws are. He proved just how important making good at the charity stripe is when he made seven free throws in the fourth quarter to force the overtime period against Mesa Ridge with the game tied at 64.

The final shot, fittingly, was a free throw by CJ Jennings that gave the Stallions the 65-64 victory Tuesday night at Sierra in a battle of two of the top three 4A teams in the Pikes Peak region.

“It’s very important because free throws win championships,” Reed said. “At practice we always start with free throws and … my teammates gave me confidence and free throws were the big difference in the game. That’s why we won today.”

The Stallions were down by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter after being outscored by Mesa Ridge 19-7 in the third, but clutch shooting at the end allowed Pikes Peak region 4A No. 3 Sierra to outlast the No. 2 Grizzlies.

With Mesa Ridge leading 60-49 in the fourth, a heated exchange between the Stallions (12-3, 8-0 4A Colorado Springs Metro League) and the Grizzlies (11-4, 7-1) gave Sierra a chance for the comeback.

“One of my players got fouled out, and he was frustrated so he untucked his jersey, and because he untucked his jersey he got the (technical) foul called on him,” Mesa Ridge coach Paul Mileto said.

Reed made all four free throw shots after the foul to pull the Stallions to within seven. Two 3-pointers by Jennings and a field goal by Reed allowed the Stallions to climb within two, but Adonis Wallace came up with his own clutch shot with less than a minute to play that gave the Grizzlies a 3-point advantage.

That was, until Reed was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 26.7 seconds to go. Calm and collected, Reed, who finished with 17 points after averaging 6.4 per game, made all three to tie it and send the game into the extra period.

“I didn’t expect to go to overtime, you know,” Mileto said when describing the final quarter. “We had them beat in regulation and there were some calls that were made right there at the end of the game that really changed the outcome of the game.”

The Stallions’ plan was to hold the ball the entire four minutes of overtime and take the last second shot, which almost didn’t happen.

Sierra held the ball for 3 minutes, 40 seconds before Mesa Ridge forced the turnover. As the Grizzlies quickly turned down the court, Sierra’s Stephan Deedon, who finished with 11 points, stole the ball back in time to put it in Jennings’ hands.

“Well we had guys with four fouls, the best player (Jennings) had four fouls,” Sierra coach Terry Dunn said. “We had to figure out how to keep him out of foul trouble and the best thing I could figure out was hold the ball in overtime and take the last shot.”

Jennings’ game-winner came on a last second shot in which he was fouled and given two attempts at the free-throw line.

He needed only one to win it.

Jennings finished with a game-high 25 points to lead the Stallions.

Deven Nelson led Mesa Ridge with 20 and Dylan Mileto had 15.

Tuesday marked Sierra’s ninth consecutive win this season and 37th straight win in the 4A Colorado Springs Metro League. It was also the fifth straight time Sierra defeated Mesa Ridge. The Grizzlies last beat the Stallions in the 2013-14 season, which was also the last season in which the Stallions lost a league game.