Rio Grande Valley's Mike Dean may have had the hot hand in the second half Wednesday night at Four Seasons Arena, but Nate Johnson of the Great Falls Explorers had the final answer.

Johnson drilled a trio of 3-pointers in the final 2:30, including the game-winner with 42 seconds left as the Explorers rebounded from their worst performance of the season to one of their best, a 106-103 victory over the Silverados in front of 450 fans in the last game before the Christmas break.

Johnson, a 6-4 guard from Florida State, had 15 of his 17 points in the final 24 minutes, while the 6-3 Dean, a Middle Tennessee State product, roared through the second half with 28 of his game-high 32.

The win moves the Explorers to 4-12 in the National Division of the Continental Basketball Association, and the five points earned moves them to 34.5, just four points behind the third-place Oklahoma Cavalry. Rio Grande, 1-14, won two points and is last in the division, 12 points behind the Explorers.

For Johnson, it was something for the home crowd to remember.

"It felt good ... giving the fans something for the Christmas break," Johnson said. "It's been a struggle, a long six weeks, and no other CBA team has gone through what we've gone through (including the sale of the team from Apex Sportstainment to Michael Tuckman), but if we can stick together, we'll be okay."

Keith Salscheider, who led the Explorers' offense with 29 points in his first game back following a concussion, echoed his teammate: "We've had a lot of battles and have been over a rocky road. We've got to stick together as a team."

The Explorers held a 58-46 lead at the break and won the first two quarters, and seemingly had things well in hand. Not so. The Silverados whittled their deficit to 76-72 by the end of the third period, thanks in large part to Dean's 15-point output.

The Explorers went on a 12-4 run to go back up by 88-76 with 8 1/2 minutes left. But Rio Grande wasn't through yet, taking a 93-92 lead on a pair of Joseph Works free throws at the 3:02 mark, his only points of the game.

Then Johnson gave the lead back to Great Falls with his first trifecta at 2:35. A Dean lay-up tied things up again at 95, but he never scored again.

William Maupins and Rod Nealy traded 3-pointers to keep the game knotted at 98-all, then Johnson nailed back-to-back shots from somewhere near the railroad yards, and the Explorers never trailed again.

Salscheider was 9-for-18 from the floor with three trifectas of his own.

"Nate Johnson had the final say tonight," Explorers head coach Scott Wedman said after the thriller. "He did a good job tonight at the point, guarding Dean and keying off of (Salscheider). These guys stepped up tonight."

Green pulled off a 22-point, 13-rebound performance and Maupins finished with 11. Johnson also had seven assists and five steals, both game highs.

Demorris Smith had 18 points and a dozen boards for Rio Grande, who had five players score in double figures.

The Explorers are off until Thursday, Dec. 27, when they travel to Lawton, Okla. to meet the Cavalry. They won't return home until after the New Year.