With two clutch shots, Elizabeth Mazzanti turned a sloppy game into a memorable one – and saved the St. Aloysius Lady Flashes from a tough loss.

Mazzanti hit the game-tying layup with 5 seconds left in regulation, then buried a game-winning 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in overtime to lead St. Al to a 53-50 win over Salem on Friday night.

Sarah Kerut had 11 points for St. Al, Bonney Neill had eight points and nine rebounds, and Mazzanti finished with a team-high 17 points. None were bigger than those five in the clutch.

&#8220We were thinking (Kerut) was going to take the last shot and we left (Mazzanti) open,” Salem coach Kenneth Murphy said.

Until the last-second heroics, it was almost a wasted opportunity on a miserable night for the Lady Flashes (12-6, 4-1 Division 3-1A). They committed 28 turnovers in regulation and, although they were 20-for-39 from the field in the first four quarters, a lot of the misses were on easy shots in the paint.

The mistakes allowed Salem (4-13, 1-4) to overcome an early double-digit deficit and a five-minute scoreless drought at the start of the game. The Lady Wildcats used a 9-0 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to take a 33-28 lead, and led 45-43 with 10 seconds left.

&#8220We came out and they didn’t score for about five minutes. I guess we thought we had it won and got lackadaisical,” St. Al coach Kyt Bonner said. &#8220(Salem) doesn’t give up and you can’t do that against them.”

St. Al had the ball with time winding down, though, and Mazzanti got it near midcourt. The point guard dribbled past a motionless defense and hit a layup with 5 seconds left to tie the game at 45-45.

In overtime, Tori Hines converted a three-point play to put St. Al ahead 50-47, but Salem’s Kalisha Peters tied it again with a 3-pointer with under a minute to go.

That set the stage again for Mazzanti. As Salem’s defense gravitated toward Kerut, the forward passed to Mazzanti on the right wing. Mazzanti buried the trey to make it 53-50, and Salem’s Tiff Rawls missed a 3-pointer on the other end to secure the win for St. Al.

&#8220We let that one get away. That’s two in a row. We lost by one on Tuesday,” Murphy said. &#8220We had a lot of lapses, especially in crunch time. We let them get behind us uncontested twice at crucial times.”

(B) St. Al 65, Salem 52

St. Aloysius kept allowing Salem to hang around, then finally shook the Wildcats loose like a dead weight down the stretch.

Chris Johnson scored six of his 10 points in the last four minutes, and Chase Smith finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds as St. Al (11-6, 4-1) beat Salem (3-11, 2-3).

St. Al never trailed, but twice watched Salem get within a few points after leading by more than 10. The Flashes finally went on a 17-7 game-ending run, powered by a key 3-pointer a three-point play from Johnson, to put it way.

&#8220It’s not like we had a secret change in strategy. We just went two or three possessions before we turned it over, hit some free throws and got some rebounds,” St. Al coach Penn Majors said.

John Robert Burnett added 16 points and seven rebounds for St. Al, and Chip Donald scored 10 points. Shannon Ratcliff led Salem with 24 points.

(G) WC 60, Greenville 58

Sha’Kayla Caples scored 24 points, Brittany Willis added 17, and Warren Central (15-4, 11-1) scratched out a tough Division 3-5A win over Greenville-Weston (11-8, 0-2).

Breanna Lewis led Greenville with a game-high 28 points and Kamissa Jackson added 15.

Prep soccer

Clinton 3, Vicksburg 2 – Michael Cooper and Cameron Curtis each scored a goal, but Clinton was able to score a goal within the final 10 minutes to take a victory Thursday in a makeup game.