Rockford Lutheran coach Tom Guse knew it didn’t look promising for his Crusaders.

They trailed Oregon the whole game, down 11 at the half and by 10 early in the fourth quarter. The Crusaders used a 10-0 run to force overtime, taking their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter on the way to a 69-67 win in Tuesday’s 2A Mendota Sectional semifinal contest.

“We were down and out for three quarters,” Guse said. “They just showed a lot of guts.

“The defensive intensity is where we had to do it and try to turn the ball over. You know, third quarter we played super hard and get it down to four or five, and – bang – the next thing you know, they’re up 10 again. And then they bang in a 3 at the end of the third quarter. If that doesn’t go in, it’s only like a five- or six-point game, and it’s back to eight or nine, and you’re like, ‘Boy, all that work, and we only gained two points.’

“Numerous occasions are guys could have quit. I’m proud of the grit they showed, and they found a way to pull it out.”

The Hawks, who won their first regional championship since 2006, bow out at 24-10. Oregon coach Jarrett Reynolds said there’s a lot to proud of.

“Thing I’m going to hang my hat on, by wins this is the best Oregon team,” he said. “We said going into the year we were going to set the standard this year, and I think we did. If you look at the crowd, it’s got a bunch of young faces, and these guys are someone to look up to.”

Benny Olalde beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Hawks a 47-38 lead at the end of the third quarter. Noel Campos hit another trey from the opposite corner to give the Hawks a 50-40 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Mason Keller, who scored a game-high 23 points, started the Crusaders’ 10-0 charge with a drive. He sank a pair of free throws to draw Lutheran within 54-51, and after a putback by Zady Mumin, Keller danced around the baseline to put the Crusaders up for the first time of the night at 55-54 with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter.

Oregon missed 5 of 6 free throws in the final two minutes of regulation, but the one it made by Ethan Peeling with 1:24 remaining was enough to knot the game at 55 at the end of regulation.

Cooper Johnson made a step-back jumper for Oregon, but Lutheran’s Zach VanBlaricom answered with a 3-pointer to give the Crusaders a 58-57 lead they would not surrender.

Brayden Petrie converted a three-point play from the charity stripe to put the Crusaders up 63-59. Lutheran went on to make 7 of 9 free throws in overtime to hang on to victory.

“They did a good job speeding themselves in the second half and became more physical and caused some turnovers,” Reynolds said. “[Guse] is a good coach, has a game plan, and his kids stuck to it. They got the ball to the right guys at the right time and hit free throws, and we didn’t.”

Tucker O’Brien paced four Hawks in double figures with 17 points, followed by Olalde with 16 and Cooper Johnson and Campos with 10 each.

Lutheran (19-15) advances to Friday’s sectional championship against the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Aurora Christian (20-7) and Johnsburg (22-11).

“It’s just one at a time, get ready for the next one,” Guse said. “These seniors are playing for their basketball lives. And it was a freshman (Evan Krulll) who hit two big free throws late in the game that helped get a win, too.”

Oregon raced out to score the first nine points of the game, O’Brien and Johnson each scoring twice with Johnson converting a three-point play off a steal and layup to make it 9-0.

Olalde converted a three-point play off a steal and layup, Oregon’s third time converting off of a turnover to take a 15-9 lead at quarter’s end.

Keaton Salisbury scored on a drive and followed with a 3-pointer to put the Hawks ahead 22-12.

Keller hit a 3-pointer for Lutheran at the five-minute mark and followed with a scoring drive to cut the Oregon lead in half at 24-19. O’Brien knocked down a trey, and Peeling scored on a drive to push the Hawks’ lead back to double digits.