Derry junior Stanley Rajkovich was honored before Friday’s game for recently reaching the 1,000-point milestone.

Then Rajkovich delivered it in the clutch.

He hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and then drained a twisting jumper to give the Trojans a heart-thumping 48-46 victory against Belle Vernon (11-8, 7-2) in a Section 3-4A battle for first place.

The Trojans led only twice — 33-31 in the third quarter and at the end of the game.

Derry (12-6, 7-2) has won four consecutive games.

“You dream about hitting a game-winning shot like that,” Rajkovich said. “I have attempted a lot in my backyard.”

After Belle Vernon missed an outside shot, Derry got the ball to Rajkovich, who rushed up the left side of the court and cut to the basket. Then, moving to his right, he put up a 10-footer in the lane at the buzzer.

He finished with 20 points.

“When Stanley got the ball, I was not going to call timeout,” Derry coach Tom Esposito said. “When he worked himself free and put up the shot, I knew it was in.”

Belle Vernon did a good job keeping Rajkovich in check in the first half. He did not score in the first quarter and had five points at halftime.

“We did a good job early containing Stanley,” Belle Vernon coach Ricky Tyburski said. “But he got going in the second half.”

Belle Vernon won the first meeting between the teams, 81-61, on Dec. 19.

Both teams shot poorly throughout the first half. Turnovers also slowed the offenses.

Belle Vernon led 12-10 after one quarter and 25-20 at halftime.

“Coach told us to stay focused and be patient in the second half,” Rajkovich said. “We kept battling.”

Derry warmed up late in the third quarter and went on a 9-2 run to grab its first lead at 33-31.

A bucket at the buzzer by Luca Ghilani tied the score heading into the fourth quarter, and that bucket led to a Belle Vernon 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

“The way we played to begin the fourth quarter is the way we usually play,” Tyburski said. “We never got into our game. We missed shots early. The defense did play well. A low-scoring game is now our style.”

Cam Jenko helped Belle Vernon in the fourth quarter by scoring eight of his nine points. Ghilani led Belle Vernon with 16 points, and Vincenzo Francia had 11.

“I was a little concerned, but I knew there was a lot of time left,” Esposito said. “We got contributions from a lot of players down the stretch. William Stockett-Harter did things that do not show up in the scorebook. Jake Lenhart and Logan Irwin hit big shots.”

Esposito said not allowing Belle Vernon to get to a double-digit lead was huge. The Leopards’ largest lead was eight (20-12, 23-15 and 32-24).

“We hung with them,” Esposito said. “We made a few offensive adjustments at halftime, and we attacked the hoop better.

“This is a nice win, but our focus in on West Mifflin now.”

Belle Vernon faces another tough test on Tuesday when it hosts Elizabeth Forward.