Oregon came out of the locker room red-hot Wednesday night, and Rock Falls just couldn’t keep up.

The Hawks hit five of their first six 3-point attempts, then used a huge second-quarter run to take control early in a 76-48 win over the Rockets in their Class 2A Rock Falls Regional semifinal at Tabor Gym.

“Our coach told us whoever dictated the game was going to win the game, so we knew we had to come out with energy and just play as hard as we could, so that’s what we did,” Benny Olalde said. “We all just know each other, what we’re going to, how we’re going to play. We have a game plan and we’re going to stick to it. We push it, we go, we shoot 3s. It’s amazing when we play together like this.”

Oregon (23-9) advances to Friday’s title game against Mendota (27-5), which defeated Aurora Central Catholic 78-46 in the first semifinal to extend its winning streak to 13.

Against Rock Falls (10-22), the Hawks got 3s from four different players in the opening five-and-a-half minutes, and shot nearly 50% (9 of 20) from deep in the first half.

That opened up the offense, and in turn gave Oregon more energy and intensity on defense, and the Rockets had no answer.

“We love to come out as hot as we can, making as many 3s as we can. It really helps because it throws the other team off track,” Tucker O’Brien said. “It just builds confidence in shooting the ball. We keep hitting, we keep finding open shots, and we’re going to keep scoring and win the game.”

Cooper Johnson scored off a steal to close the first quarter and Olalde nailed his third 3 of the game to open the second, igniting a 26-4 run to as the Hawks built a 41-16 lead in the final minute of the first half.

“Oregon is a good, disciplined team, and props to them; if they get a lead, they’re a really tough team to come back on, with the multiple defenses they run and different looks that they throw out there,” Rock Falls coach Zach Sandrock said. “They sped us up when we wanted to slow them down. They like to use transition and speed us up on the defensive end to get into their offense, with their multitude of shooters, and we kind of played into their hands.”

Trailing 54-22 three minutes into the third quarter, Rock Falls rallied. Cole Mulnix scored back-to-back baskets in the paint, then Z’Viyon Martin nailed a 3 on the fast break to spark a 19-5 run over the next 6:12.

But even then, the Rockets only cut the deficit to 18, and Oregon scored 10 straight points to retake control.

“It’s tough, especially when you start playing well and go on a big run and you think you’re cutting it down, but you look up and it’s still a big score. That’s so hard to come back from,” Mulnix said. “We really just wanted to keep pushing the ball, not get in our own heads thinking, ‘Oh, we’re down, we’re down.’ We just kept trying to keep our heads on the right line, and we started to make a run but they were too far ahead.”

The Hawks scored at least 16 points in every quarter and led by double-digits for 23 of the game’s 32 minutes. They shot 40.6% (13 of 32) from 3-point range while limiting Rock Falls to just 11.5% (3 of 26) from deep.

“We were trying to make them move faster than they wanted, force turnovers on defense,” Cooper Johnson said. “It’s good having people know their role and playing their role perfectly, and it gives us a ton of confidence. Then each 3 that goes in just builds it and keeps it rolling, and that’s what gives us the ability to win.”

Olalde hit four 3s and scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, and he also had five steals, four assists and three rebounds. Johnson had 16 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, and O’Brien recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and dished three assists. Brian Wallace hit four 3s for 12 points, Nole Campos had a pair of 3s and added eight points, and Keaton Salsbury also nailed two 3s and finished with six points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Mulnix led Rock Falls with a double-double of 12 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocks, and Max Burns added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Cole Heald had nine points and two steals, Martin added eight points and three steals, and Owen Mandrell chipped in seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.