Indian Creek boys basketball coach Nolan Govig said watching Marquette star senior guard Alec Novotney let go a potential game-winning 3-pointer just before the final horn of Friday’s Class 1A Amboy Sectional final brought with it a sudden rush of anxiety.

“I was stressing, no doubt about it,” Govig said. “Novotney has been a tremendous player his entire career and I’ve seen him hit so many shots just like that, so seeing him let that shot go ... I was just holding my breath.”

The tough shot hit the front and then the back of the rim before rolling off to give the Timberwolves a thrilling 46-44 victory over the Crusaders.

“We got a heck of a look at the end, it just didn’t fall for us,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “When I saw Alec go up and let it go, I thought it was going in. We got what we wanted, Alec taking the shot. It wasn’t a clean look but it’s a shot we’ve seen him hit a ton of times before. This time it just didn’t fall.”

Indian Creek (27-6) advances to the Joliet Central Supersectional where it will play Momence Sectional winner Chicago Marshall (21-10) at 6 p.m. on Monday. Marquette, which was looking for a first sectional title since 1987, ends the season at 25-9.

“Coming into tonight we all knew the game back in December [a 62-33 IC win] didn’t matter, it was early in the season and Marquette was without Novotney,’ Govig said. ”I knew this was going to be a ballgame. The last few years almost every time we’ve played each other it’s been an absolute battle and almost every time has come down to the final minute. This is exactly how I thought things would go tonight and I’m thankful that we were able to come out on top."

Marquette led 8-7 after the opening quarter, 18-15 at halftime and 27-25 with three minutes to go in the third after a layup by Blayden Cassel.

Then Indian Creek senior Logan Schrader - who scored all 13 of his points in the second half - sparked his team with six straight points, including back-to-back drives down the lane. A 17-foot jumper by junior Isaac Willis in the final seconds gave the T-Wolves a 33-27 lead.

“My shot just wasn’t falling in the first half, so I was trying to do the best I could with the other parts of the game, setting good screens and rebounding,” Schrader said. “Coach Govig said at halftime that we were going to run more sets to try and get me to the basket. My teammates set good picks for me, and I was able to do that.”

“Logan is in one word a baller. I think he may be the most talented player I’ve ever coached. I knew if we could get him coming off some high screens, get him into some space and get him going downhill he’d finish or find open teammates.”

In the fourth, IC pushed the lead to 41-33 in the opening three minutes, highlighted by a top-of-the-key 3-pointer by senior Payton Hueber and a rebound turned fastbreak, turned old fashion three-point play by junior Parker Murry.

Marquette closed to within two twice in the final 25 seconds, both times on two free throws by Novotney, the last with six seconds left.

Indian Creek misfired on two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to set up the dramatic finish.

Hueber led IC with 14 points, while Willis finished with 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Novotney poured in a game-best 23 points for Marquette, with juniors Griffin Dobberstein and Luke McCullough (seven rebounds, three blocks) added five points each.

“That was a great game in a great atmosphere,” Hopkins said. “Credit both teams, they won the game and our kids battled not only tonight but all season.

“In that (late third quarter) stretch we turned the ball over a few too many times and then just weren’t able to guard the pick-and-roll as well as we did in the first half. We were able to battle back to give ourselves a chance but just couldn’t get all the way back.”