Tray Alford, regardless of the gym or even the state, seems to have the clutch gene.

Yorkville Christian’s junior guard hit a buzzer-beating 3-point shot in the championship game of a tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, in December.

As a freshman, he hit a game-winner at the Plano Christmas Classic.

Alford did it again Friday.

On his team’s final possession, going the length of the court, Alford rolled in a runner from the right elbow in the final seconds.

It gave Yorkville Christian a thrilling 70-69 win over visiting Christ the King.

“Brutally honest, I’ve been that kind of player my whole life,” Alford said. “I’m the type of player that if I have to do something, I’m going to do something. My team needed me. I’m going to do whatever I can for my team.”

In a back-and-forth fourth quarter with four ties and nine lead changes – five in the last 62 seconds alone – Christ the King (17-8) took a 69-68 lead with 11.9 seconds left on two free throws by Levante Winfield, who scored a team-high 23 points.

Out of a timeout Alford inbounded to Jayden Riley, who passed it back to a streaking Alford at midcourt. He took two dribbles past a defender, hung and double-clutched in the air and let the floater fly.

It momentarily sat on the back of the rim, then rolled around and in.

“When Jayden threw it to me I realized they had two on that side so I was like I’m going to beat them this way,” Alford said. “I knew I had two shooters in the corner. I noticed nobody collapsed so I just floated the ball up. I had to do it.”

Christ the King missed a desperation 3 as time expired.

It’s been a big week for Alford, who scored 17 points in the win. On Wednesday he scored his 1,000th career point in Yorkville Christian’s win over Joliet Catholic at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.

“Tray, another clutch shot,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “We knew they would double [Riley], we didn’t know that they would go to that zone trap. We had those two guys back and we said whoever they don’t double, you’re going and I trust those guys to make plays and Tray had the gap. Tray has been clutch when it comes to that.”

Riley, who scored 33 points – including his 2,000th in a Yorkville Christian uniform – with five assists and five steals – knows it as well as anybody.

“I’ve been playing with Tray since like second grade. Tray really does have that clutch gene,” Riley said. “People don’t pay attention to him. When you don’t pay attention to somebody they’re going to pay the price.”

Yorkville Christian (15-9), as it typically does, has challenged itself with a schedule that has included multiple games in Wisconsin and several against highly-regarded bigger schools.

Friday’s game was a unique gauge against another top school closer to its enrollment. Christ the King finished third in Class 2A last year, the class Yorkville Christian will compete in this postseason.

The two teams have contrasting styles, which made for an entertaining matchup. Christ the King, led by the 6-foot-3 Winfield, lives in the paint and off second shots.

Yorkville Christian, with SIU-Edwardsville commit Riley one of the state’s better guards, is more finesse.

The win came on the heels of the Mustangs rallying from six down at half to beat Joliet Catholic.

“It’s a huge win,” Sovern said. “We knew this week was a tough week, three games in four days. [Christ the King] is a good team, they do what we struggle with. They offensive rebound, they throw it up and go get it and our guys battled.”

While the smaller Mustangs were out-rebounded 35-19, they held their own at times.

Kayden Maxwell, all of 6-foot-1, had six points and 10 rebounds, all his points coming in the second half before fouling out.

“He battles like crazy,” Sovern said.

Yorkville Christian led 32-31 at half, but Christ the King surged ahead 45-40 with a 10-0 run.

Riley scored to close the gap to 49-47 at the quarter turn, and Maxwell scored to tie it to start the fourth.

Riley scored 19 of his 33 in the second half.

“There were some shenanigans going on and I think that lit the fire in him,” Sovern said. “Not that he was sleeping but you don’t want to poke that bear.”

With his 2,000th point in three years at Yorkville Christian, Riley joined Jaden Schutt as the only player in program history to reach the milestone.

“It’s crazy,” Riley said. “I thank coach for the opportunities and letting me run the team. At the end of the day it’s not possible without that.”