Free State forward Cameron Clark (34) rallies the team before Friday nights game against Mill Valley at Free State. The Firebirds won, 68-63.

Trailing by 10 points with six minutes left on Friday against Mill Valley, Free State High boys basketball coach Sam Stroh told his team to stay calm.

The Firebirds didn’t do anything differently on either end of the court. They just knew they needed to stay the course. Once the Firebirds refocused, they scored on their final 11 possessions in a 68-63 comeback victory at FSHS.

“I thought it was no time to panic,” Stroh said. “We took a timeout and just talked as a group. We had to just chip away. We weren’t going to win the game in one or two possessions.”

Following the Free State timeout, senior 6-foot-3 point guard Kristian Rawls scored on a layup-and-the-foul bucket, starting a 10-0 run that eventually tied the game with three minutes remaining.

Rawls tied the game, 57-all, with a driving layup before Mill Valley sophomore Cooper Kaifes and Free State senior guard Hunter Gudde traded buckets. A missed free throw by Mill Valley gave the Firebirds the ball back, and senior forward Chrision Wilburn gave the Firebirds their first lead since the second quarter on a layup, assisted from junior forward Jay Dineen with 2:04 left.

Afterward, the Firebirds went 7-of-10 at the free-throw line to hold off any comeback attempt, including a pair from junior Jacob Pavylak for a four-point lead with 23 seconds left. The Jaguars went 2-for-5 at the free throw line in the final three minutes with two missed threes and a turnover.

“I didn’t have any doubt that we weren’t going to win this game,” said Gudde, who scored 12 points. “I don’t think anyone else did. I think that’s why we won.”

The Firebirds (2-0) trailed by only one point with one minute left in the third quarter before Mill Valley senior guard Kasey Conklin drilled three triples on three straight possessions for a personal 9-0 run. Conklin scored a game-high 23 points, shooting 7-for-12 from behind the arc.

Mill Valley (2-1, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A) drained 11 three-pointers in the contest, including seven in the first half. The Firebirds struggled to slow sharpshooters Conklin, Kaifes, senior guards Logan Koch and Jaison Widmer on the perimeter, and the Firebirds had to overcome a size disadvantage in the post against 6-8 forward Clayton Holmberg.

“I mean, they had four people that might be the best shooters on the court,” Gudde said. “So it’s kind of hard to guard that.”

But when the Firebirds needed stops, they found ways to contest shots. Mill Valley shot 2-of-8 from the floor in the last seven minutes.

“I don’t think I’ve ever beat a team that made 11 threes,” Stroh said. “That’s a great team. They are going to be one of the top teams in 5A and compete for their league. It took an all-out effort for 32 minutes.”

Rawls scored 15 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, driving through the paint for layups and finishing through contact. Wilburn added 19 points and six rebounds.

“It was my first big varsity game, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve done it tons of times in practice,” said Rawls, noting the Firebirds work on situational basketball in practice each day.

After the final buzzer, the Firebirds flew off of the bench to congratulate each other on their first comeback win of the season.

“We took that timeout,” Rawls said, “and we just talked through it and came out and were ready to execute.”

MILL VALLEY (63)

Logan Koch 4-7 5-7 14, Kasey Conklin 8-13 0-1 23, Cooper Kaifes 2-7 1-3 6, Jaison Widmer 2-5 2-2 7, Clayton Holmberg 2-10 0-0 4, Tyler Grauer 2-2 0-0 4, Derrell McLemore 0-1 2-2 2, Ethan Lane 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 21-46 10-15 63.

FREE STATE (68)

Kristian Rawls 7-10 7-11 21, Chrision Wilburn 5-9 9-13 19, Sloan Thomsen 2-4 0-0 6, Jacob Pavlyak 0-2 2-2 2, Hunter Gudde 5-7 2-4 12, Shannon Cordes 3-3 1-1 8, Jay Dineen 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Tochtrop 0-0 0-0 0, Darian Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Simon McCaffrey 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-37 21-31 68.

Mill Valley 15 19 17 12 — 63

Free State 19 7 21 21 — 68

Three-point goals: Mill Valley 11-24 (Conklin 7, Koch, Kaifes, Widmer, Lane); Free State 3-11 (Thomsen 2, Cordes). Fouled out: Widmer. Turnovers: Mill Valley 9, Free State 13.