Keaton Salsbury watched his corner 3-pointer swish through the net and turned to the Oregon student section to scream in celebration.

About 15 minutes later, the senior had the regional plaque in his hands and the net draped around his neck.

It was a perfect night for the Hawks, who never trailed in a 65-52 win over Mendota in the Class 2A Rock Falls Regional final Friday at Tabor Gym. It’s their first regional title since 2006, and they advance to the 2A Mendota Sectional against Rockford Lutheran on Tuesday.

“It’s everything we’ve ever worked for in our entire lives,” Salsbury said. “We’ve been playing together since fifth grade, and this has been the dream ever since we started.”

“I’m so thankful,” classmate Cooper Johnson said. “We’ve played basketball together our whole lives and this has been the dream. We finally got it done our senior year, I’m so happy.”

Johnson scored 18 points and dished six assists while keeping his cool running the point against the Trojans’ pressure defense. Salsbury hit four 3s and finished with 14 points and two steals while providing emotional energy. Benny Olalde scored six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks pull away, and also nabbed three steals. Junior Ethan Peeling had nine points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench.

The list went on and on for Oregon (24-9), which led 18-10 on Johnson’s 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer, then stretched it to 31-18 on a Salsbury 3 and Jaxson Manka layup late in the second. And after Mendota (27-6) made a run to get within two in the third, the senior-heavy Hawks showed their poise again, getting 3s from Brian Wallace and Salsbury to bookend a 12-1 run to take a 53-40 lead 1:06 into the fourth.

“The offense was flowing easy tonight, and it just makes everyone on the court feel more comfortable,” Salsbury said. “You’re confident in giving everybody a shot because you trust every shot they take. I love playing with these guys.

“It’s all energy. We’ve got to come into the game wanting to win, knowing we’re going to win. We just had to find a way to score, taking what the defense gave us.”

Oregon, which lost at home to Mendota 71-62 on Feb. 14, knew a surge was coming. With coach Jarrett Reynolds telling his guys to “weather the storm, we’re fine,” the Hawks took the Trojans’ best punch coming out of halftime.

Mendota scored 10 of the first 12 points in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 41-39 on baskets by Aden Tillman and Drew Becker with 2:44 left in the period.

“Give Oregon credit, they played great tonight. They played super hard, they executed. They guarded really well, they were disciplined, they made key shots every time we made a run,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “We couldn’t quite get over the hump. I think we expended so much energy to get back in the third quarter that we kind of had tired legs.”

The Hawks responded with the key surge, then held the Trojans to one 3-pointer over the game’s final 5:05 to seal it.

“We were preaching that the whole game, weather the storm every time; we knew they’d make runs, and we just had to stick with it and answer,” Johnson said. “We just decided to come out and dictate every quarter. Whoever dictates the game is going to win it, so that’s what we did.”

Nole Campos scored five points, Wallace added five rebounds to his 3-pointer and Tucker O’Brien chipped in two points and seven rebounds while fighting foul trouble for Oregon.

“I thought our guys did a great job playing complementary basketball and trying to throw Mendota off their rhythm,” Reynolds said. “I thought our guards did a great job, especially Cooper, just handling their pressure and getting downhill. And our communication tonight was the best it’s ever been.

“I just am so proud of these guys. They do everything I ask and ask nothing in return, and they’re so fun to be around.”

Cole Tillman’s 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists led Mendota, and Dane Doyle added 15 points on five 3s, with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Becker added 10 points and eight boards and Aden Tillman scored seven as the Trojans saw their 13-game win streak snapped.

“We had an off night, and that’s the beauty and kind of the crux of the postseason. It was the wrong night to have a tough night,” Wasmer said. “It was a great journey and this doesn’t take anything away from that. It’s a tough way to end it, but it was still a great season, and I’m proud of these guys.”