Redmond’s Jack Snyder (23) lays the ball up as Caldera’s Miles Macomber (4) defends during the game on Friday at Caldera High School.

Wyatt Horner’s free throw with half a second remaining was the difference-maker in Redmond’s 62-61 win at Caldera in a matchup of top-five Class 5A boys basketball teams on Feb. 8.

The fifth-ranked Panthers closed on a 13-5 run in the final 5 minutes, 44 seconds to hand the top-ranked Wolfpack their first Intermountain Conference loss and create a three-way tie atop the IMC standings.

“We were able to pull that out somehow,” said Redmond coach Reagan Gilbertson. “We had a rough third quarter, we stuck together, had some foul trouble. We didn’t hang our heads and we were ready to go.”

Caldera, which had won 10 of its last 11 games to rise to the top spot in the 5A rankings, played without its star big-man Will Jenson, who was out with an illness.

“It was a hard-fought battle between two great teams,” said Caldera coach Evan Dougherty. “I really thought we played well. Our style of play needed to adjust and we did a good job of that. And we had guys step up, and I’m proud of them for that.”

With Jenson out, the Panthers (14-5 overall, 3-1 IMC) jumped to an 11-2 lead in the game’s opening minutes. But a couple of timely 3-pointers by senior Tomas Nishikawa, who came off the bench, helped spark the Wolfpack (13-5, 3-1) after a shaky start.

By the second quarter, both teams had settled in. The game became a little more methodical, as both Redmond and Caldera had key players battling foul trouble.

The Panthers had a 36-31 lead at halftime. Senior guard Miles Macomber led the scoring charge for the Wolfpack, scoring 17 of the team’s 31 points in the first half, while Horner led the Panthers with 13 of his team-high 16 points.

In the third quarter, the Wolfpack proved just why they have risen up the 5A rankings in their third season as a varsity program. They outscored the Panthers 17-7 in the period to take a 48-43 lead. Nishikawa, who finished with 15 points on the night, scored nine points, made two more threes and had two steals in the third quarter.

“He was huge,” Dougherty said of Nishikawa. “And he’s been huge for us all season. It might not show up in the box score or in the minutes. (Seb Fievet) gets into foul trouble and Tomas comes in and is ready to.”

After a five-point scoring burst from Macomber, who finished with a team-high 26 points, early in the fourth quarter, it looked like it was going to be the Wolfpack that escaped with a victory. Instead, it was the experienced Panthers that made the crucial plays down the stretch.

Senior guard Kaleb Losoya knocked down a crucial three, his third of the game, in the corner. Senior guard Ian Pearson converted a basket and a free throw, and Horner scored nine points in the final eight minutes to help secure the win for Redmond.

“We just took it possession by possession,” Horner said. “We all just made winning plays when we needed to at the right situations when we needed them. It feels good to get this win.”