VAN BUREN -- The Fish headed to Ellsinore after the East Carter Redbirds thwarted a late comeback Friday night in the 35th annual Yellow Sucker Game.
Dalton Rudd's steal and layin as he was fouled with 50 seconds remaining padded East Carter's three-point lead and Lane Chilton sank four free throws to close out a 69-62 win over host Van Buren.
"Means a lot to get it back after two years," East Carter senior Eli Fuller said. "My brother got it his senior year so I had a lot to stand on."
Coming off a two-win year and losing this season's opener by four on the same court, the Redbirds celebrated with their fans as Fuller held the Fish Trophy high in the air.
"I really think it can kind of change our season, kind of just give us the confidence that we needed," Redbirds coach Jordan Penn said.
Chilton scored a game-high 22 points to go with 12 rebounds for East Carter while Fuller scored 20 on 10-of-13 shooting with four steals.
Van Buren (2-2) was led by Hayden Towner's 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jacob Brown added 14 points, sinking 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range, to go with eight rebounds while Ross Hayworth added 12 points.
The Bulldogs, playing in their restored gym following the devastating flood last spring, nearly overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to reclaim The Fish.
"Proud of my kids fight. They never gave in," Van Buren coach Adam Epps said.
East Carter finished the third quarter with a 9-4 run starting with Drew Asher's long 3 to break a 36-all tie with 2:43 left. Chilton's three-point play 1 1/2 minutes into the fourth put the Redbirds up 50-40.
The Bulldogs chipped away, getting 3-pointers from Will Towner, Connor Jackson and Brown, who cut the deficit to 58-55 with 2:14 to play.
East Carter broke Van Buren's press and Fuller scored off a pass from Cody Hampton. Brown answered with a putback off a missed 3-pointer but Rudd, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, knocked down a 3 in front of the student section with 90 seconds to play.
"We just never could get over the hump," Epps said. "They would get a bucket, an easy one, or hit a big 3 in the corner."
Kory Ricker's three-point play again got the Bulldogs within three and junior Will Towner got his fourth steal with 67 seconds left.
Van Buren set up its offense, but Rudd stepped in front of a pass from the middle to the right wing and headed upcourt, getting a layup to fall as he was fouled.
"He's a good defensive guy for us and it was a great time to come up with a big play right there," Penn said.
Van Buren, which finished 8 for 18 at the foul line, came up empty when Ricker was sent to the line. His basket after the foul was committed was waved off but it didn't matter.
Hayworth cut the deficit to three after the Redbirds turned the ball over but Chilton sank two foul shots with 12 seconds remaining and then two more after rebounding a missed 3 by the Bulldogs, who were 8 of 27 from long range.
"Sometimes when we don't hit 3s we don't play hard everywhere else and that was kind of the moral of the story there," Epps said.
Van Buren had won 12 of the last 13 Yellow Sucker Games, including last year by 21 points. The Bulldogs lead the series 18-17.
The Redbirds opened Friday with a 10-3 run before Van Buren put together a 10-2 run featuring a pair of 3-pointers by Brown.
There were five lead changes and two ties in the first half with neither team leading by more than five after the opening Redbird run.
Hayden Towner's putback off a missed 3 tied it at 27-all in the closing seconds of the half but Chilton knocked down a pull-up jumper before Towner beat the buzzer to send the teams into the locker room tied at 29-all.
The gym was packed and loud from the start of the junior varsity game, which Van Buren won 68-61, through the varsity tipoff, which resulted in a tie up and second tipoff.
"That's the kind of environment you want to be in," Epps said. "That's a championship environment."