WARNER – It wasn’t the start or the finish Aberdeen Roncalli was looking for, but the Cavaliers will definitely take the final results.

Roncalli built a lead and then held off Langford Area for a 47-44 non-conference boy’s basketball win Saturday night at the Warner Classic.

Keegan Stewart made two clutch free throws with 12 seconds left to help secure the victory.

“He’s a great shooter,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “To his credit he stays cool, calm and collected in those moments.”

The Cavaliers started out the game with just four points in the opening quarter and managed just five in the final period before Stewart’s free throws.

“It was a really slow start and a slow finish for us. We kind of started to shoot ourselves in the foot just by shooting a little too much in the fourth quarter,” said Gallagher, whose team led 45-37 midway through the final period. “We knew what the situation was, but we were still taking some shots with a minute and half, two minutes left with 25-28 seconds left on the shot clock. They were good looks, but they’re not the highest percentage shots that we can take.”

The Lions kept inching closer and eventually clawed to within a single point in the closing minutes. However, Roncalli never relinquished the lead.

“The guys just kept their poise, especially on the defensive end. We were never in bad position,” Gallagher said. “They just hit some shots. They had some nice drives, got to the line a couple of times.”

In the end Roncalli was able to collect a pair of offensive rebounds, which eventually turned into Stewart’s foul shots. Langford Area missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds.

Zee Mounga led Roncalli with 19 points.

Gallagher credited Caden Shelton for jump-starting Roncalli’s offense in the second quarter.

“When shots aren’t falling you need to get to the rim. Caden Shelton kind of started that with a baseline drive for a layup to start the second quarter,” Gallagher said. “Then the next possession down Darwin Gambler made a great pass to Zee on the inside and he got an easy two. That really got the shots falling from there. I think the next three we took went in.”

Stewart and Maddox May each contributed seven points to the Roncalli total.

Jesse Keough’s 18 points powered Langford Area.

Roncalli, 6-13 on the season, closes out the regular season by hosting Milbank Area at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Roncalli Gym.

Gallagher said the win over Langford Area will help his squad in two different ways.

“This is a big momentum game for us. One, it kind of solidifies where we’re at in the region, so we’re kind of having a better idea of who we’re going to be facing in that first round, but also, we’re going into a Milbank team who is kind of similar to Langford in their style of defense,” Gallagher said.

He said the Cavaliers expect to see some more zone defense from the Bulldogs.

“I think today just gave us a lot of confidence, especially against a zone,” Gallagher said. “We’ve really struggled against that throughout the season and today we just did a great job of moving the basketball, finding the best looks, and while the shots didn’t necessarily fall, we did more things that went better.”

LANGFORD AREA (10-9): Ben Gustafson 3 0-2 6, Adan Godel 1 0-0 3, Brayden Peterson 3 2-2 8, Jackson Bahr 1 0-0 2, Jesse Keough 6 5-8 18, Kassen Keough 2 2-2 7. Totals 16-40 9-14 44.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (6-13): Maddox Miller 2 0-0 5, Zee Mounga 7 0-0 19, Caden Shelton 2 0-0 5, Keegan Stewart 2 2-3 7, Maddox May 3 1-2 7, Darwin Gambler 2 0-1 4. Totals 18-53 3-6 47.

Langford Area 11 21 30 44

Aberdeen Roncalli 4 24 40 47

3-point field goals – Godel, J. Keough, K. Keough; Miller, Mounga 5, Shelton, Stewart. Total fouls – Langford Area 11; Aberdeen Roncalli 14. Rebounds – Langford Area 31 (Gustafson 11); Aberdeen Roncalli 29 (May 8). Turnovers – Langford Area 6; Aberdeen Roncalli 6. Assists – Langford Area 4; Aberdeen Roncalli 8. Steals – Langford Area 4; Aberdeen Roncalli 3.