COATESVILLE -- As it did York in the District 3-AAAA championship nearly two weeks ago, Cedar Crest had its foe on the ropes Wednesday night.
But, as it did back then, the opponent rallied and stung the Falcons with a heartbreaking defeat.
La Salle College pulled the trick Wednesday for a 49-43 overtime victory in the PIAA Class AAAA boys' basketball second round at Coatesville High School.
Trailing by nine with less than six minutes left in regulation, the Philadelphia Catholic League's Explorers (21-6) began eating away at the deficit and ultimately forced an extra session.
In that bonus four minutes, La Salle answered an early Crest bucket with 10 straight points to clinch Saturday's quarterfinal berth opposite Lower Merion at a site and time to be determined.
Tommy Smith's Falcons (26-6), who advanced further than any other team in program history, closed the book on a season that also saw them win their first Lancaster-Lebanon League section and L-L tournament titles since 1976.
Junior guard Kitt Najee Walls, en route to a game-high 22 points, drilled two huge 3-pointers to spark the fourth-quarter rally for La Salle. And it was junior reserve Dan Corr nailing the go-ahead trey -- his only field goal of the game -- midway through overtime.
Sophomore guard Evan Horn paced Cedar Crest with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while senior forward Andrew Eudy totaled 12 points, eight boards and five blocks in his final high school game.
Against York on March 1 at Giant Center, the Falcons squandered an 11-point early fourth-quarter deficit, falling 54-52 in the championship game.
PIVOTAL SEQUENCE
After neither side made any significant pushes in the first half (tied 8-8 after one, 16-16 at intermission), the Falcons closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run (to take a 26-19 lead) and added to that advantage early in the fourth.
Two free throws by Eudy left Crest ahead 30-21 with 5:53 remaining.
A short jumper by La Salle's David Krmpotich ignited a 13-4 run to close regulation, with Walls delivering his two big treys and Krmpotich tallying six of his nine points during the stretch, including the tying jumper with 1:49 left.
After both sides missed chances late in regulation, Horn drove for a bucket to start OT.
Sean Greenberg's free throw pulled the Explorers within one, then Shawn Witherspoon (six points, seven rebounds, three assists) dished to Corr in the corner for the go-ahead triple.
La Salle's defense kept stopping Crest, and Walls soon added a dagger of a three-point play. The Explorers converted eight of 10 free throws over the final 1:09 to seal it.
STAT FRENZY
La Salle finished just 31 percent from the floor (14-for-45), but consider it was far worse after three quarters (7-for-31). The Philly Catholic League squad, the No. 3 seed out of District 12, made four of 15 3-point attempts and 10 of 13 freebies. ... Crest shot just 28.1 percent from the field (16-for-57), including 2-for-11 from deep. And that included a game-ending triple by senior reserve Zach Livering. The Falcons made nine of 12 free throws, but all three misses came in the fourth quarter. ...
Behind Horn (13) and Eudy (eight), the physical Falcons accumulated a 43-37 edge on the glass. Dominic Garloff and Raymie Ferreira added four each for Crest. ... Krmpotich grabbed 10 boards to lead the Explorers, with the seven from Witherspoon and six more from Walls. ...
Nick Miller dished out a team-high three assists for the Falcons, the same number for La Salle's Witherspoon. ... Krmpotich added three blocks in his team's win. ... The four-minute overtime period featured more combined points (24) than any of the eight-minute quarters (16, 16, 13 and 23).
More from this game, including commentary from both head coaches, will be added later tonight.