That something came as the team caught fire from 3-point range. Eli Christensen started it off with a corner 3, then Cooper Walter hit four consecutive shots from long range to cut the lead down to 48-45. George Balko sent the game to overtime with a game-tying 3, then, with under a minute to play, Adam Steffensmeier completed the comeback with a corner 3 to give St. Mary’s the 75-73 overtime victory.

“I knew I had to keep shooting,” Steffensmeier said. “I struggled from the 3-pointer tonight. I missed a couple, but I give it to Cooper. Cooper was hot, but he trusted me with the extra pass, and he gave me the open look and I drilled it. Credit to Cooper for the good pass.”

Cooper Walter led the Knights with 23 points, including seven 3-pointers.

“It started off with getting it into the high post,” Cooper Walter said. “That’s a big thing we prioritize. We get open shots, and it’s a fun play.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Adam Steffensmeier (2) drives the baseline against Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Matthew Lee (5) during a Tomahawk Division boys basketball game at St. Mary’s High School on Monday.

After Steffensmeier’s shot, GFW’s Cole Jacobson was fouled with 3.6 seconds to play, but missed the first free throw. The Firebirds were unable to pull off the intentional missed free throw down 2 as St. Mary’s celebrated the victory.

“It’s beyond words describing the feeling,” Cooper Walter said. “Just playing and going to overtime, celebrating with the team after.”

Jacobson led all scorers on the day with 36 points, and on his first bucket on the day — a deep 3-pointer from the left wing — he surpassed Seth Schuette as the career scoring leader for GFW boys basketball.

“It’s great,” Jacobson said. “I couldn’t have done it without all of my teammates throughout the years. All the credit goes out to them to help me become the player I am today, and it just really feels good for me.”

Jacobson also credited his teammates, coaches and family for pushing him to improve each year.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Cooper Walter (1) shoots over Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Matthew Lee (5) and Owen Swenson (2) during a Tomahawk Division boys basketball game at St. Mary’s High School on Monday.

“My teammates pushed me to become the player I am today,” he said. “My coach, my father [head coach Ryan Jacobson], they do everything for me, and it just makes me want to come out and show up for them so I can give them my best effort so I can be in these kinds of situations.”

Jacobson is currently sitting at 1,917 career points with five games remaining in the regular season.

“Just take it game by game,” Jacobson said. “We lost a couple of close ones today and last week, but we got to close out together and go get the next couple.”

GFW (13-9, 9-5) hosts New Ulm Cathedral on Tuesday.

Also for St. Mary’s, Balko had 16 points and six rebounds, while Steffensmeier had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Brecken Hulke had 12 points and seven rebounds, and Christensen had 9 points.

For GFW, Kaden Rieke had 17 points, while Matthew Lee had 8 points.

Jacobson’s record-breaking 3 put GFW up 6-4 early, then Jacobson converted an and-one to put the Firebirds up 11-4 and force a St. Mary’s timeout. The Knights fought back with a 3 from Stefffensmeier to start a 7-0 run and cut the lead to 14-11, but GFW responded with 12-0 run, capped off with a pull-up corner 3 from Jacobson, to go up 28-13. Cooper Walter hit his first 3 of the night to get back to 28-16, but the Firebirds continued to push, going up 38-23 on a layup from Jacobson. St. Mary’s cut the lead to 38-26 with a layup from Balko and a free throw from Hulke.

Steffensmeier said the team came out with a lot more energy in the second half.

“[St. Mary’s head coach Judd Walter] told us at half time that we just had to keep playing,” Steffensmeier said. “He got us pumped up, and that brought our energy alive. We had no energy in the first half, and we really turned it on in the second from the halftime speech.”

Coach Walter said his focus was picking up the pace in the second half.

“At halftime, we talked about speeding the tempo up,” he said. “Bringing the ball up with more pace, and we went to a little bit more of a pressure defense, just to try to flip the script a little bit.”

After Christensen’s 3, sophomore guard Ethan Hinderman entered the game and brought some energy by drawing a charge on Jacobson. Hinderman continued to affect the game by being active and disruptive on defense.

“Ethan Hinderman, who came off the bench and really set the tone for us and created a spark,” coach Walter said. “Started to get some stops on the defensive end, and we started to knock down some shots, which was big … When we started to see the ball go through the hoop, it made a big difference.”

Steffensmeier said Hinderman’s activity made a big difference for the team as they began to claw back into the game.

“What’s working is what’s working,” Steffensmeier said. “Ethan hasn’t gotten a lot of minutes all year, but he showed it tonight, he can play with us. He brings the energy, plays good defense and is fun to watch out there and fun to play with.”

Than energy translated into Cooper Walter’s four consecutive 3-point shots to cut the lead down to 48-45. From then on, except for a short stint from Landry Folkens at the end of overtime, St. Mary’s had the same five players on the court — Hinderman, Steffensmeier, Cooper Walter, Balko and Hulke — for the rest of the game.

“I don’t think that group has been on the court together all year,” coach Walter said. “So I think it was just a unique combination. They were rolling, and I felt comfortable with them on both ends of the floor. A couple smaller guys up top in our zone, they were really good with great ball pressure. And I thought, with Brecken back in — he came back in with that twisted ankle — but he was really good and patient in the middle. As soon as we started closing the gap, I just wanted to stay with the hot hands.”

That decision continued to pay off for coach Walter, as the unit battled back and forth with GFW. Balko tied the game at 50 with a 3, then Steffensmeier took it with a layup. The Firebirds recaptured the advantage with a pair of free throws from Jacobson putting them up 54-53 as St. Mary’s called a timeout with 5:59 to play. Another 3 from Balko gave the Knights a 58-56 advantage, but GFW went on a 8-0 run, led by two layups each from Jacobson and Rieke, to go up 64-58. Cooper Walter stayed hot with another 3 as GFW called a timeout with 1:16 to play.

Jacobson came out of the timeout with a layup, but Cooper Walter hit a pair of free throws to make it a one score game once again. With 28 seconds left, Balko hit a 3 to tie the game at 66. Hinderman forced a GFW turnover as St. Mary’s called a timeout with 5.3 seconds to play. While Cooper Walter got a shot from the corner off, it sailed wide, sending the game to overtime.

Jacobson opened overtime with a pair of layups to put the Firebirds up 70-66, but Balko hit a 3 to cut the lead to 1. Jacobson hit a free throw in the bonus and Rieke made a floater for a 4-point lead, but Steffensmeier made a 3 to cut the lead to 1 once more. With under a minute to play, GFW turned it over again, setting up Steffensmeier for his game-winning shot.

“It was great,” coach Walter said. “We’ve been in some games like this before where it would be easy to give up, but I love the fight. Against a very good team, a team we’re fighting with for that third spot in the conference, they have a great team and a great player over there in Cole. It was great and a good W to help turn the corner in the last couple weeks of the season.”

St. Mary’s (11-9, 7-6) plays at Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart on Tuesday.