But when the ball ended up in his hands with less than 2 seconds left, Hagen’s desperation shot went in and sent Mayer Lutheran to the state tournament. The Crusaders beat No. 1-ranked Springfield 78-75 and advanced to the Class A boys’ basketball state tournament, which begins next Thursday at Williams Arena.

While the 3-point heroics of Hagen were the difference-maker as time expired, it was the inside games of Garrett Tjernagel (6-foo-7) and Baden Noennig (6-6) that was unstoppable for most of the game.

Noennig led all scorers with 29 points and Tjernagel finished with 20. Kobey Woolhouse finished with 11 points and Hagen had 5 points, including the 3 at the end.

The Tigers had a 75-73 lead in the game when Curtis Tauer scored inside. But 14 seconds later Woolhouse was fouled and scored. to tie the game. He missed the ensuing free throw and Springfield appeared to grab the lead with 1:17 left after Isaac Fink scored. However, Fink was called for the charge and the Crusaders stalled, setting up the eventual game-winning shot.

Mayer Lutheran led the entire first half as Noennig and Tjernagel were scoring nearly every possession. Decker Scheffler and Fink kept the Tigers close for most of the half, but the Crusaders led 43-40 at halftime.

The Tigers scored the first four points in the second half to get their first lead, but the teams traded the lead 10 times in the second half. The Tigers’ biggest lead came with 2:22 left when Fink hit one of two free throws to give his team a 73-70 lead.

Fink led the Tigers with 26 points. Scheffler finished with 20 points and Tanner Vogel finished his career with a 15-point effort.

Springfield ends its season 28-2.