Bronson Schultz spent much of the second half on the bench Friday thanks to four fouls.

The Tomah Timberwolves are fortunate he never picked up his fifth -- they needed his foul shooting.

Schultz made seven of eight foul shots in the final three minutes, and they were critical in sealing Tomah’s 65-62 win over La Crosse Central in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Tomah High School.

It was Tomah’s first MVC win of the season.

“I thought our kids fought the whole way through and executed down the stretch,” Tomah coach Brad Plueger said. “We made just enough free throws to seal it in the end.”

It was 3-pointers that gave Tomah a big enough lead in the third quarter to survive Central’s inevitable fourth quarter surge. Alex Marten, Malik Figgins and Kyle Kikta drained 3-pointers during a 9-0 run that gave the Timberwolves a 38-23 advantage with 3:20 left in the third period.

Central roared back with a 9-1 run, but Marten drained another 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to put the Timberwolves ahead, 42-32, heading into the final period.

“The 3-ball was an important part of what we did tonight,” Plueger said.

Tomah’s lead was hacked to 49-45 before Kikta unloaded with another 3-pointer with 3:31 left.

After that, the Timberwolves were smart enough to get the ball to Schultz. His last two foul shots gave Tomah a 63-57 lead with 26 seconds left.

Ryan Ledvina countered with a 3-pointer -- Central’s first of the game -- to shrink Tomah’s lead to 63-60. Figgins was then fouled with 11 seconds, and he made both foul shots. Alex Jaromin then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass to clinch the win.

Tomah set the tone early with a full-court press that didn’t cause many turnovers but yanked Central’s offense out of rhythm. The Timberwolves jumped out to a 6-0 lead and stretched the advantage to 18-6 when Figgins exploded for eight points in 41 seconds.

“A big part of our success was our press,” Plueger said. “I think it took them out of their offensive flow and kept them from getting into their sets.”

The Timberwolves were still up 24-12 before going cold early in the second quarter. Tomah would have gone scoreless in the final 4:48 had Figgins not converted a backcourt steal into a layup with four seconds left. Figgins’ shot put the Timberwolves ahead, 26-20, at halftime.

Figgins led the Timberwolves with 18 points and committed just one turnover as Tomah’s point guard. Ten of his points came in the first quarter.

“He was on fire there for a stretch, and he handled their pressure really well,” Plueger said. “It’s nice to see kids step up like that.”

Four Tomah players ended the game with four fouls, but the bench play of Marten and Jaromin kept the Timberwolves afloat. Marten, in addition to his two 3-pointers, was a reliable ballhandler. Jaromin scored 10 points and kept his composure while guarding Central 6-foot-4 post player Louis McGuire without help from the guards. Plueger said his priority was to defend against the 3-pointer, especially in the fourth quarter.

Schultz finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

Tomah improved its overall record to 5-11 and won an MVC home game for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

“We’re playing better basketball,” Plueger said. “It’s a huge confidence boost for the kids.”

The Timberwolves head to Holmen Tuesday and return home three days later to host La Crosse Logan.