Brecken Heiling led the Tigers (22-6) with 20 points and four assists, while Parker Kuehn had 19 points and three steals and Bryan Buerkle had 18 points and seven assists. Dylan Simonson added 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Tigers, who are now set to take on No. 2-seeded Madelia on Monday night in the section semifinals at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

“We knew we beat them by 30 the first time [Jan. 6], but you can’t come in with that attitude and just know that it could be a close game,” Simonson said. “It’s playoffs, everyone’s playing hard, physical and not wanting to go home.”

The Crusaders, who were led by Covin Winter’s 13 points and Breyden Stoffel’s 10 points, end their season with a 16-12 record.

An and-one by Heiling gave the Tigers a 9-2 start, and the Tigers slowly increased their lead to double digits, 22-12, after a 3 by Heiling. Simonson followed with a 3 of his own and Buerkle added a bucket in the paint for a 27-12 Springfield lead.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Springfield’s Brecken Heiling reacts after seeing a 3 of his go down during Thursday’s Section 2A boys basketball playoff game against Mankato Loyola at Sibley East High School in Arlington.

“It’s so fun,” Simonson said. “Just having everyone hitting shots, everything feels good. When it’s your turn, feels good and it goes in.”

Moments later, Madden Lendt got the Springfield crowd on their feet with a breakaway slam dunk for a 31-17 lead. A 3 by Simonson with four minutes left had Springfield up 40-23, but the Crusaders were able to chip away at the deficit to trail 48-36 at the half.

With a modest 12-point lead at halftime, the Tigers got everything going for them in the second half and quickly doubled their lead. A layup by Kuehn kicked off a 7-0 Tigers run that put them up 73-45. The run also saw Kuehn hit a 3 and Aiden Moriarty finish the run with a bucket in the paint. Moriarty led the Tigers on the boards with eight rebounds.

The Tigers pushed their lead to 32, 80-48, following another 7-0 run that was capped off on a Simonson layup. Max Moriarty sank a 3 off the bench for the final bucket and final score.

Now the Tigers prep for another game against Madelia, which defeated Springfield 80-67 in Springfield on Feb. 12.

The two teams met three times last year. The Tigers won the first two meetings, the second being for the new Tomahawk-Valley Conference title. The Blackhawks ended up winning the third game last year in the section semifinals.

“We know they’re gonna come in hard again, it’s their big game of the year,” Simonson said. “We just gotta execute, do the little things and try to come out on top.”