It took Hinckley-Big Rock two quarters before finding its groove in Friday’s Class 1A Hinckley-Big Rock Regional championship against Parkview Christian.

Leading only by a point at halftime thanks to a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the free-throw line, the Royals found their inside game in the third quarter to break the contest open.

Stepping up their transition offense and patiently passing the ball around the perimeter until finding a seam in the Falcons’ zone defense, H-BR outscored Parkview by 13 points in the third stanza on its way to a 66-50 win.

With the victory, the second-seeded Royals advance to the Amboy Sectional and will play top-seeded Ottawa Marquette (24-8) in a semifinal Tuesday night.

Luke Badal opened the game’s scoring with a slam dunk on a steal. The Royals led 17-16 after the first eight minutes. Both sides only tallied eight points in the second quarter.

Being denied the interior, H-BR relied on its 3-point shooting and free throws to score. The Royals (23-8) had to make adjustments after being called for the fifth foul with 6:15 left in the first quarter.

“We survived the first half. We had two starters pick up two fouls each early on, and that changed the game flow and the style of play. The guys off the bench did a really good job of coming in and giving us some minutes,” H-BR coach Seth Sanderson said.

“In the second half, we got back to the style of play that we have been running all year. We were patient on offense and got out on transition to break Parkview’s defense down.”

Capitalizing on the improved interior passing, Royals junior Marshall Ledbetter scored eight of his 14 points in the paint during the third stanza.

“We had situations like this where we had a slow first half, but we are a very experienced team, and we know what needs to happen to get it done,” Ledbetter said.

Badal started the Royals’ second-half surge by scoring the first six points of the frame. The senior scored 11 of his game high 17 points in the second half.

“We calmed down and then just started to turn it up in the second half,” Badal said. “And it worked.”

“Coming in, we just had to make sure we control them inside the paint. In the first half, everything was clicking. Our guys were being aggressive,” Parkview coach Michael Adams said. “Hinckley-Big Rock then turned it up a notch.

“With them being on their home court, we had to match their energy, and we didn’t do a good job of that.”

Coming off the bench, Judah Miceli scored eight points for the Royals, including two 3-pointers.

Parkview’s James Jefferson earned a double-double, scoring a team-high 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Teammate Collin Mulder tallied 11 points while Christian Mulder notched 10 for the Falcons,

The Falcons finish the season with a 14-19 record.