NAMPA - Isaiah Wright was tying the drawstring on his basketball shorts while the rest of the Idaho Center waited for him to approach the free-throw line.

His hands did not shake, even though all eyes were fixed on him.

When he finally toed the line, the junior point guard made both free throws, putting his Borah High boys basketball team in the lead one final time.

Wright and the Lions (25-1) successfully defended their 5A state championship with a 47-44 victory over District Three rival Rocky Mountain (21-5) on Saturday night at the Idaho Center.

It was the Lions' third win over the Grizzlies in four meetings this season, and marked the 11th state championship in program history.

"We talked before the game about doing this for the seniors and for the guys that don't get to play a whole lot," Borah coach Cary Cada said. "We were very determined tonight and we did play with a lot of resolve."

After their three previous meetings went down to the wire, it wasn't a surprise to see the Lions and Grizzlies tied 41-41 with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game.

"We go at each other so hard, and both teams are very well matched up," Cada said. "Everybody is extremely intense and we could play them again five more times the next 10 days and it would probably be split. It was just two very strong teams."

Senior Patrick Muteba made one of two free throws with 15.6 seconds left to extend Borah's lead to 45-41, but the Lions couldn't get comfortable.

Rocky junior John Sherle knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game with about 3 seconds to go and the Grizzlies immediately fouled Borah senior Nick Reed.

Reed made both free throws in the double-bonus situation and the Grizzlies inbounded the ball with 2 seconds on the clock.

Sherle dribbled himself open near halfcourt and launched the potential game-tying 3 as the buzzer sounded.

"He had a good look at it. That ball almost went in," Wright said. "Thank God it didn't go in."

Once the championship trophy was handed out, Wright ran into the stands to hug his dad.

"I knew where he was and I just wanted to give him a big hug and say we did it," Wright said. "It was a proud moment to go hug my dad."

Wright finished with a game-best 21 points, five rebounds and three assists, sending eight Borah seniors out on top.

"Isaiah was Superman tonight," said Borah senior Joe Nelson, who added 10 points and eight rebounds. "We've been here before, and I don't think we were rattled by the big moments. We were just ready. We were poised and we handled the pressure well."

After spending the entire season ranked No. 1, the Lions withstood one final push to knock them off the mountain.

They'll rest easy tonight.

"It really hasn't sunk in," Cada said. "Once I saw John's long shot rim out, I just thought, 'Oh my gosh, we did it.' "

Rachel Roberts: 377-6422, Twitter: @IDS_VarsityX