Eudora ? It was only appropriate the Eudora High dance squad performed to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at halftime of Friday night’s boys basketball game between the Cardinals and rival Baldwin.

The game certainly lived up to that title.

Thanks to some late-game heroics by the entire Eudora squad, the Cardinals were able to come away with a 47-46 victory.

“There was a lot of pressure at the late there and I really feel a lot better now that it’s over,” Eudora’s Todd Roberts said.

It took the Cardinals more than three minutes to get on the board in the fourth quarter – trailing 43-32 at the time. And after his squad jacked up three consecutive errant three-pointers to open the final quarter, Eudora coach Kyle Deterding had enough.

“Coach (Deterding) called a timeout, and we went into the huddle and he said, ‘Better passes, better shots,'” said Kelson Boyer, who had a team-high 12 points.

The timeout was effective, as Morgan Abel converted a traditional three-point play – his only points of the night – to stop the drought and started the Cardinals (8-6) on their way.

Abel sparked a 15-3 run over the final four-plus minutes. However, with 30 seconds remaining, Baldwin’s Drew Berg hit a three-pointer to put the Bulldogs (9-4) up by one.

But there was plenty of time for Eudora to get off a final shot – or more importantly, two shots.

Roberts pulled down an offensive rebound under the basket following a miss, and while pinned along the baseline by two Baldwin defenders, snapped the ball behind him to an open Mike Ortega, who converted the game-winning layup.

“I gave up a three-pointer in the end there, so I was just thinking, ‘I better make up for this,'” said Roberts, referring to Berg’s three-pointer. “I just crash the boards as hard as I can, hope I can get it and I did. I saw Mike out of the corner of my eye and bounced it to him and he made it.”

BALDWIN HIGH'S DREW BERG drives against Eudora's Todd Roberts. Berg scored a game-high 22 points Friday night, but Eudora earned a 47-46 victory on its home floor.

Things came full circle at the end for Roberts. He got the Cardinals going to start the game after they missed their first six shots. But halfway through the quarter he knocked down a three, followed by a two-pointer.

Roberts led all scorers going into halftime with nine points. However, those would be the only points he would get.

Instead, he began dishing out the ball and came up with six assists in the second half.

“I got it to Kent Swanson, who was the hot hand at the moment,” Roberts said. “So I just wanted to take care of the ball, no turnovers, play good defense and do whatever it takes to win.”

Baldwin’s Berg did all he could to try to get the win, scoring nine of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. But the only other offense for the Bulldogs was a bucket from Blake Wieden.

“We quit attacking, and I think we played not to lose once we got the lead and we just quit attacking,” Baldwin coach Eric Toot said. “We got the lead by attacking and we just started walking it up and made some bad decisions on the offensive end. We didn’t have very many good possessions, and that led to them getting on a little bit of a run and they hit some big shots.”

Baldwin did have one last chance to take back the win, with 3.5 seconds remaining following Ortega’s score. But a long three-point shot by Wieden bounced off the iron.