Leading by one with six seconds to play Friday night at Stratford, the Eisenhower boys basketball team wasn’t quite sure what play the Spartans would devise in hopes of hitting the game-winning basket.

The Eagles were confident, however, that Spartans guard Blake Kelting would get the ball somewhere.

He ventured a little farther into the paint than Eisenhower guessed, but things worked out perfectly.

Kelting got off an airball in the final seconds, Stratford couldn’t get a putback and the Eagles held on for a 63-62 win in front of a frenzied crowd.

“They did a good job on the inbound and getting the ball back to him, but I really thought he was going to settle for the jump shot,” Eisenhower coach Jesse Shelton III said. “I guess they felt like taking it to the basket. But we had Ella (Ellis) down there challenging the shot.”

Ellis, a 6-foot-6 center who made three of four free throws in the final 41 seconds, stationed himself in the lane as Eisenhower’s defense collapsed on Kelting, forcing him inside.

“We just drew Kelting into the middle and he had the airball, then we were able to contest and get the rebound,” said Ellis, who had a team-high 17 points and six rebounds.

Eisenhower improved to 29-3 overall and 13-0 in 19-5A. The Eagles’ final district game is Tuesday night at Memorial.

They defeated Spring Woods Tuesday night to clinch the district championship.

The Eagles led by seven with 3:15 left, but Stratford turned four turnovers into eight points to take a 62-60 lead.

Tevin Kelly hit a 3-pointer, Kelting and Rodney Anderson converted steals into layups to make it 60-59 with 1:31 left, and moments later Kelly’s 3-point play gave Stratford its first lead since late in the first quarter.

Ellis went 2-of-2 at the line to answer Kelly’s equalizer and added a third point seconds later.

In the end, Stratford was left to ponder its second straight agonizing defeat at home. The Spartans lost 68-64 in overtime to Aldine Tuesday night.

Aldine is third in 19-5A and Stratford is fourth. Both teams have secured postseason berths.

Darius Goff added 15 points and Jermaine Davis scored 10 with nine rebounds for Eisenhower, which got seven steals each from Kenneth Guiton and Jazz Reynolds.

Kelly scored a game-high 21 points for Stratford. Kelting added 10.

“They gave us a valiant effort and fought the whole way,” Shelton said. “These games can be useful. Anytime you play a hard-fought game like tonight, it’s going to prepare you for the playoffs. It’s going to help with pressure situations down the road in a hostile environment. I just hope games like this can get us ready for times like those.”

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