The 6-foot-5 junior pulled down a pair of critical rebounds and hit two free throws — all in the final 30 seconds — to lead the Wolverines to a 44-41 Division 2 West victory over Clymer at Westfield Central School.

The win improves Coach Nolan Swanson’s squad, which is ranked fifth in the New York State Sportswriters Association Class D poll, to 16-1 overall and 9-0 in the league.

The ninth-ranked Pirates, meanwhile, suffered their second loss of the season to Westfield, and fell to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the league.

Were it not for Rotunda, however, it might have been a different outcome.

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Westfield’s Cole Holland absorbs contact from Clymer’s Austin White, but makes the basket anyway.

In a contest in which the tempo favored a more methodical Clymer, the Pirates were on the verge of coming away with the road win after Westfield’s Darien Swanson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 28.9 seconds left in the game, but Rotunda grabbed the rebound — he had seven for the game to go along with three blocks — was fouled and calmly drilled both free throws to push the Wolverines’ lead to 44-41 two seconds later.

Still, Clymer had a shot.

Working for a 3-pointer that would send the game to overtime, the Pirates held for a final opportunity. With a foul to give, Westfield did just that, stopping the clock with 5.5 seconds remaining. Clymer’s Blake Kopta inbounded the ball in front of his team’s bench and ultimately got a return pass with a clean look at the basket, but his shot went in and out.

Guess who grabbed the rebound?

Rotunda.

Once the buzzer sounded to end the game, Westfield’s players celebrated, but Coach Swanson cautioned that there was still plenty of season left.

Leading the offense for the Wolverines was Carson Swanson with 15 points on 5 3-pointers; Darien Swanson with 13 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals; and Ethan Weingart with 9 points.

For Pirates’ coach Irv King, he remained philosophical about the setback, knowing full well that the two division rivals could meet again in the postseason.

Micah Willink led Clymer, which led 28-26 at halftime, with 20 points, 18 of which came before the break. The senior also grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked two shots. Kopta and Weston Hepler each had 8 points.

The Pirates are back in action Friday at Sherman. Westfield will be off until next Tuesday when it entertains Sherman.

CLYMER (41)

Michael 2 0 5, AWhite 0 0 0, Hepler 3 2 8, Kopta 3 0 8, Battaglia 0 0 0, Willink 8 2 20, OWhite 0 0 0, Totals 16 4 41.

WESTFIELD (44)

Weingart 4 1 9, Barresi 0 0 0, Holland 1 0 2, DSwanson 5 2 13, CSwanson 5 0 15, HRotunda 0 0 0, CRotunda 1 3 5, Totals 16 6 44.

3-point goals — Michael, Kopta 2, Willink 2, DSwanson, CSwanson 5.

Clymer 10 18 6 7 — 41

Westfield 12 14 12 6 — 44