They needed to survive a dramatic finish and extra session to get it done but top-seeded Lucas advanced to the Division IV District Championship with a 72-61 overtime victory over #4 St. Mary Central Catholic at Willard High School.

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The first quarter was dominated by the Cubs (24-1) who ran out to a fast double-figure lead as they controlled a 15-5 advantage heading into the second where they extended their advantage to 32-20 by the half.

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Momentum would swing in favor of the Panthers (16-7) in the third as they stormed back to tie the game at 40-40 to start the fourth with a 20-8 spurt in the frame. The game would go back and forth over the final eight minutes with Cubs junior Riley Gossom delivering what could have been the game-winning basket moments before Myles Bruno raced back the other way for St. Mary's equalizer in the closing seconds to force overtime.

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Lucas would get put on the free throw line 15 times in the extra session where they cashed in 11 attempts to seal a spot in the District Championship on Friday.

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The Cubs were carried offensively by a trio of scorers, led by senior Logan Niswander with 25 points, Ethan Sauder added 19 and Gossom scored 18. Five Panthers cracked double-figures with Nate Roesch the top threat with 17 pts, followed by Vinny Will and Bruno each with 11 while Cole Kromer and Dylan Christian scored 10 each.

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Waiting for Lucas in the final is defending district champ #2 South Central (21-3) who defeated Norwalk St. Paul 57-36 in their semifinal.

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