CAMBRIDGE — A determined fourth-quarter comeback spelled the difference Monday when Cambridge-South Dorchester High School beat visiting SS. Peter & Paul High, 62-50.

The contest was close through the first three quarters, with the Vikings only pulling ahead in the closing minutes of the game. In case there was any doubt, 6’0” sophomore Koby Jones brought the thunder with a slam dunk that had the crowd roaring at the 3:30 mark of the fourth quarter as the score hit 49-40.

A spectator might have predicted a different finish from watching only the first minutes of the game. The Sabres jumped out to an 7-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Vikings regrouped, however, and ended the period ahead 16-12.

The second quarter saw a tight contest, with the score tied at 16-16 one minute in. Then freshman Naa’il Thompson snatched the ball from a visitor, brought it down court and dropped in a nice layup to help the Vikes to a 22-16 lead at 4:50.

The Sabres put on a full-court press that slowed the home team’s attack towards the end of the half.

The third quarter featured changes of the lead, with the visitors on top 34-29 with 4 minutes left. C-SD fought back, tying at 39 with a bucket by 6’2” senior Markell Pinkett with 40 seconds left.

As time expired in the third period, the Sabres were faced with tough defense, C-SD’s gym echoing twice with the hard slap of rejected shots and fans’ cheers in response.

Pinkett was back at work under the basket in the final period, adding more points. Senior Kenny Romain was in action as well, contributing sharp passes to the offense.

After Jones’ dunk and a Sabres’ 3-pointer, Vikings’ Head Coach Vic Burns said to his players, “This is what they’re going to do: Get us to foul, and extend the game. We have to play good defense without fouling.”

With the score at 59-48 and just over a minute left, the visitors did foul to stop the clock, but could not close the gap.