It took an extra four minutes, but the Valley Central Vikings survived.

Donovan Davis scored on a putback and hit a free throw down the stretch as the Vikings outlasted the Monticello Panthers, 45-41, in Thursday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division II boys’ basketball game at Valley Central High School in Montgomery.

“We did our thing on the defensive end,” Valley Central’s Armando Perez said. “But we were missing open shots in the paint. We want to get into the paint, but we’ve just got to finish.”

The Vikings’ struggles came on the offensive end of the floor, where they missed about half their free throws, and despite an early 3-pointer from Jason Murphy, he struggled to get the rest of them to fall.

Perez led the Vikings with a game-high 14 points.

“Armando has been steady for us all year,” Valley Central coach Frank Nutt said. “He’s really done a good job transitioning from someone who went from being a secondary ball handler to our primary ball handler. That’s really not his role.”

Davis, who provides a force in the middle for the Vikings, struggled early with layups and foul shots but excelled in the fourth quarter and overtime to lift the Vikings to victory.

He finished with 12 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Vikings scored 17 points during that stretch. It was his basket that tied the game at 37-37 with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

“He missed a bunch in the first half, and missed a bunch in the third, and when we needed him, he made the big shot,” Nutt said.

Then came overtime. Davis, Nasir Trotter and Shawn Magby helped lift the Vikings to a four-point lead. It was the second time the Vikings had such a lead.

Earlier in the second half, the Vikings had a five-point lead, but two quick baskets by the Panthers quickly cut the Vikings’ lead down to one point.

“We just talked about taking care of the basketball and finishing possessions,” Perez said.

The Panthers started faster than the Vikings, and led 15-10 after the first quarter, but the Vikings rallied to take a 21-19 lead at halftime. The game was tied after the third and fourth quarters.

Monticello’s Christian Brown and Judah Brown scored 13 points each. It was the fewest points the Panthers scored in four quarters and their 41 total points was tied for their lowest output of the season.

“I think one thing that we’ve learned with this team is that we can defend,” Nutt said.

“Monticello is a very good offensive team. They have four or five guys who can really shoot the heck out of the ball. We held Washingtonville to 32 points, and we’ve held everyone that we’ve played in the last three weeks in the 40s.”

The Vikings finished the regular season by winning three of their last four games and with a 12-8 overall record, and a 7-5 mark in the OCIAA Division II. The win ended the Panthers’ five-game winning streak.

“That was really important,” Perez said. “It boosted morale, and we got back on the winning side. We play as a team, and I think we’ll be good in the offseason.”