An incredible comeback by Warren Central went for naught Tuesday.

After overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final 45 seconds to tie Crystal Springs, the Vikings couldn’t come up with another miracle and lost 98-94 in double overtime.

Crystal Springs (5-2) scored the first 10 points of the second overtime to take command. Warren Central coach Jesse Johnson said his young team learned a great lesson about how to come back in a dire situation, but must also learn to finish.

“Our youth made us lose this game,” Johnson said. “What happened in the overtimes, was our youth. We have some great talent, we’re just young.”

Kory Davis, a sophomore, had a game-high 30 points to go with six assists, five steals and six rebounds for WC (3-3). Yet, as Johnson pointed out, he could’ve easily scored more had some easy shots fallen.

“Kory missed a ton of shots, but we need him to keep taking them,” Johnson said. “We are going to ride him all year.”

WC’s Eric Howard was huge at the end of regulation and the overtimes. He finished with 18 points, 16 of which came in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime.

Crystal Springs coach Bradrick Owens was just glad to escape with a win.

“I applaud my guys for hanging in there and getting us a win,” Owens said. “Yeah, we didn’t do a very good job of closing it out there in regulation. But they gave great effort in the overtimes to win the game.”

Two free throws by Roman Lofton, who led the Tigers with 25 points, made it 72-64 with 44.4 seconds left. Then the fun began.

Howard made a quick layup and a steal at mid-court by Kory Davis led to a 3-pointer by Jeremy Harper that cut it to 72-69 with 21.9 seconds left. A steal by Cory Davis, the Vikings reserve point guard, was converted when Howard drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie the game at 72 with 9.9 seconds left.

A second Kory Davis steal gave WC a chance to win at the horn, but his 10-foot runner missed.

Howard kept up his hot hand with four straight points to begin the first overtime. WC went up 78-73, but needed a layup by Harper in the closing seconds to send it to a second overtime.

The Tigers, who shot 65 percent from the field in regulation, made their first five shots in the final overtime to take a 92-82 lead. WC rallied to get within three, at 92-89, before Lofton hit four free throws down the stretch to put it away.

(G) Warren Central 32, Crystal Springs 30

Michelle Jones’ free throw with 17 seconds left and a big defensive rebound by Elayne Robinson helped the Lady Vikes (1-5) earn their first win of the season.

WC nearly let a 10-point third quarter lead go to waste. The Lady Vikes went over six minutes without scoring in the fourth quarter and allowed Crystal Springs to take a 29-28 lead. A 12-foot jumper by Sh’qulla Neal put WC back ahead 31-30, and Jones’ free throw extended it to a two-point lead. The Lady Tigers tried for a tying basket but Robinson, who finished with 11 rebounds, came up with the clinching board.

Jones finished with nine points and six rebounds to lead WC. Ladonna Moore had 11 points for Crystal Springs.