CRYSTAL LAKE – No one will ever need to remind Crystal Lake Central’s boys basketball team about the importance of making free throws again.

In the first half of Central’s matchup against crosstown rival Prairie Ridge on Wednesday, the Tigers might have taken more trips to the line than they had in their previous few games combined. The Tigers scored 16 of their 36 first-half points from the stripe, and the effort gave them enough of an advantage to withstand the Wolves’ 30-point fourth-quarter in a wild 74-67 Fox Valley Conference crossover victory.

“The way [the Wolves] play, forcing possessions, and the way we shoot free throws, we were worried this was going to be a game like that,” said Central coach Rich Czeslawski, whose team converted 28 of 43 free throws. “We made just enough.”