LEROY — Grand Meadow freshman Ethan Yost wasn’t afraid to take the big shot with the game on the line.

He drove baseline, pulled up and knocked down a running jumper with four seconds left to give the Superlarks a 61-59 victory over the Cardinals in LeRoy Monday night.

“If the three-pointer wasn’t there I was going to drive or look for Killian (Smith) cutting to the hoop,” Yost said of his game-winner. “It was pretty exciting to knock the winning shot down.”

On GM’s previous possession, Yost made almost the exact same move, except he dished it to Michael Gehling underneath for the game-tying hoop with 16 seconds left.

After LeRoy/Ostrander turned the ball over for the 21st time on the night, GM head coach Chad Burmester had no problem putting the ball in his freshman’s hands as Yost, a 6-foot tall guard, scored all 12 of his points in the second half. In fact, Burmester called for a double screen to free up Yost.

“The kid can flat out shoot it,” Burmester said. “It’s kind of unusual to put it in a freshman’s hand, but when he’s got it rolling, you give him a chance and he knocked it down for us.”

Yost wasn’t the only freshman who made his mark for the Superlarks (2-3 overall, 2-2 SEC) as Bryce Benson, a 6-3 center, finished with six points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks. Benson had a key rebound and hook shot which brought the Larks to within 59-57 with 1:20 left in the game.

Gehling, a senior forward who had 15 points, four rebounds and two steals, said the freshman class has had a big impact on the squad.

“They’re a pretty talented group. As a freshman I couldn’t have compared to them,” Gehling said. “Just look how big they are compared to the other freshmen. They’re pretty mature and they’ll get better as the season goes along.”

The loss was a tough one for the Cardinals (1-5 overall, 0-4 SEC) as they missed two free throws on the front end of a one-and-one in the last minute of the game. L/O never trailed the entire night until GM’s final score and it led 29-18 early in the first half.

“I thought they played together a lot better as a team and we had a lot more continuity than we’ve had in the past,” said L/O assistant coach Ed Smedsrud. “They’re all disappointed that they lost, because they had the lead for quite a while. It was a good game and a tough loss.”

While GM was pleased to get the win, it still needs to work on its new offense and it must bring strong defensive pressure the entire game. The Superlarks trailed 31-25 at the break after a rough shooting first half.

“We didn’t pass as much in the first half and we got the ball moving in the second half,” Yost said. “Then more guys had open shots.”

Burmester said the team’s younger players also have some learning to do as the season rolls along.

“We know there’s talent in the younger players, they’ve just got to understand they can do a lot of things at the varsity level that they did in B-Squad except it might take a little harder work,” he said.

GM tied the game up at 55 with 4:41 left when Yost hit a three. The Cards took a 59-55 lead when Mark Miller, who had 11 points and nine rebounds scored on a put-back and Dylan Mackey scored on a lay-up.

GM 25 36 — 61

LO 31 28 — 59

GM scoring: Michael Gehling, 15; Killian Smith, 14; Ethan Yost, 12; Bryce Benson, 6; Zac Finley, 5; Aveonce Rowe, 5; Dezmon Johnson, 4; rebounds: 31 (Benson, 10); free throws: 40 percent (6-for-15) turnovers: 14

LO scoring: Dylan Mackey, 13; Kirk Nelson, 13; Ryan Grant, 12; Mark Miller, 11; Jesse Rannells, 4; Sam Christenson, 4; Mitch Scaglione, 2; rebounds: 41 (Miller, 9); free throws: 70 percent (12-for-17); turnovers: 21