Tommy Donahue drained a 3-pointer and Deerfield opened up a 14-point lead on Kaneland with 5:14 left in the third quarter of a Class 3A state semifinal.

The Knights wouldn’t let the Warriors score for almost eight more minutes, allowing Kaneland to storm back and force overtime.

Ultimately, the comeback bid fell short in the bonus time.

Marshawn Cocroft 3-pointer from the top of the key bounced off the rim at the buzzer, preserving a 49-48 Deerfield win on Friday in Champaign.

“We needed a quick basket,” Cocroft said. “There was no time to think with 2.4 seconds left.”

Deerfield (25-11) handed the Knights (35-1) their first loss of the year. It was also the Knights’ second straight game that went down to the final possession after a 49-47 win against Morton in the Class 3A NIU Supersectional on Monday.

The Knights possessed the ball for the final 53 seconds after Deerfield 6-foot-9 senior Jake Pollack made a layup to put the Warriors ahead for the first time in overtime.

Pollack blocked a jumper in the paint by Connor Kimme, but the Knights retained possession with 26 seconds left. They swung the ball around the perimeter until Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe called timeout with 2.4 seconds left.

After the timeout, Cocroft had an open look but the shot didn’t fall.

“I just wanted to make sure we got the shot at the end,” Colombe said. “We ended up getting the shot at the end, so all you can ask for is the opportunity.”

The Knights took their first lead of the second half on a 3-pointer by Jalen Carter with 2:56 left, going ahead 40-39. The teams went back and forth, with Evan Nagler putting the Warriors ahead 45-43 at the free-throw line with 35 seconds left, making one of his two attempts.

After a Kaneland timeout, Cocroft drove to the basket and scored. Pollack missed in the paint at the buzzer for Deerfield, and a putback attempt by Donahue was too late.

“Every basket they had we made sure was tough,” Cocroft said. “There was nothing easy for them. We made sure we took away open looks and made sure everything was hard.”

The teams traded the lead back and forth early, but after a Carter 3-pointer, the Warriors scored 12 straight for a 22-11 lead with 6:52 left in the second quarter. They took a 29-18 lead into halftime.

Cocroft and Jeffrey Hassan, who entered Friday averaging a combined 32.4 points per game, had only two points total at halftime. But Hassan came out red-hot in the third quarter with eight points, three blocks and four rebounds.

He also didn’t turn the ball over after three turnovers in the second quarter.

“I just thought I had to turn it around,” Hassan said. “The first half didn’t go well. I just wanted to win.”

Hassan opened the second half with a dunk, but Donahue answered with a pair of 3-pointers to open up a 34-20 lead for Deerfield, its biggest of the game.

But the Knights scored the next 13 points, concluded by a Hassan dunk 0:21 left in the third. Neither team scored again until a Pollack putback with 5:27 left in the fourth quarter, putting Deerfield up 36-33.

“They were playing good, solid defensive pressure on us, and it is a state semifinal game,” Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick said. “Maybe we felt it for a little bit. Maybe we got timid for a little bit.”

Pollack finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and four assists. Nagler scored 11 and Donahue added nine. The Warriors shot 47.1% from 3-point range.

Evan Frieders and Hassan scored 10 points apiece for Kaneland. Hassan had 15 rebounds and three blocks. Carter and Kimme had nine points each and Cocroft finished with eight.

Kaneland shot 38% from the floor and 28% from 3-point range. They were 3-for-4 from the line while Deerfield was 9-for-12.

“That’s just basketball on any level,” Colombe said. “You have good shooting nights some nights, and some nights your shots don’t drop. And a big part of that is Deerfield’s defense. So I wouldn’t necessarily do anything different. Obviously I would have liked to hit a few more shots.”

Deerfield advances to the state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday against East St. Louis. Kaneland was to face Leo in the third-place game late Friday.

“We have to bounce back. That’s what we expect to do,” Colombe said. “I think a lot of people have talked about the third-place game or whatever. But we’ve got a lot of pride so we’re going to want to finish the season with a win.”