STERLING CITY — Offense didn’t come easy for the Ballinger boys basketball team for most of its Region I-3A bi-district game against Crane on Friday. But the Bearcats found their rhythm when they needed to most, outscoring the Golden Cranes 15-7 over the final eight minutes to rally for a 39-32 win at the Sterling City gym.

Ballinger, which trailed 16-15 at halftime and 25-24 after three quarters, needed 2½ minutes to score its first points of the fourth quarter. But some excellent defense kept the deficit at one until that point, and a Jonathan Delgado 3-pointer kicked off a 12-0 run that gave coach Jeff Holland’s squad a commanding 36-25 lead with just under three minutes remaining.

Crane outscored BHS 7-3 the rest of the way, but it was of little consequence as the Bearcats advanced to the area round, where they’ll face off with the winner of No. 3 Peaster and Bowie next week.