Crusaders stake claim to MVC title

~ Saxony Lutheran escaped with a 78-76 victory over Meadow Heights.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- In any game which comes down to the wire, the hope is always that a call will not be the deciding factor in the outcome.

Unfortunately, that was the case at the finals of the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament on Friday night.

Saxony Lutheran senior Lauren Lueders hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to break a tie and give the second-seeded Crusaders a 78-76 win.

This was the second conference crown for Saxony Lutheran (17-4) in three years of conference play since the school moved to the varsity level.

"It was special for our seniors to win the conference tournament for the second time in three years," Saxony coach John Daniel said.

The game was a barn-burner, a matchup of two vastly different styles of play. While the Crusaders (17-4) pounded the ball inside, top-seeded Meadow Heights (12-6) relentlessly launched 3-pointers.

An official called a foul on what he thought was a 3-point attempt by Lueders in the final seconds set up the game-winning free throws. After the Panthers had tied the game at 76-76 on Heath Fulton's jumper with 13 seconds to play, Lueders had the ball several feet behind the 3-point line. The Vanderbilt University recruit brought her arms up but did not appear to be off the ground when the foul was called.

"It was a foul, but she wasn't looking at the basket," Meadow Heights coach Tom Brown said. "To me she was passing. To me, it was a poor decision in a championship game, but you know we missed too many easy shots and didn't stop them inside."

Alex Jauch led the Crusaders with 25 points, 16 in the first half. Casey Petzoldt added 20 points, and Tim Lorenz had 15. All three Saxony big men found little opposition inside.

"We knew we could match up good with them on the inside," Petzoldt said. "We knew they'd be shooting from the outside. It was just a matter of who shot better."

Meadow Heights led 40-39 at halftime, but early in the third quarter Saxony took a 44-42 lead on Petzoldt's 3-pointer. The lead changed five more times in the quarter, and there also were four ties in the period.

The Panthers held a 59-56 lead after three quarters and had a five-point lead with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Lueders hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2 minutes remaining to knot the score at 72-72, and Lorenz made yet another basket close to the hoop with 27 seconds left to put Saxony up 76-74.

"We just talked about keeping our composure," Daniel said. "You knew they were going to make some big shots, make a run. When they did, we had to keep our composure."

Lueders finished with 16 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

"Lauren had a huge game," Petzoldt said. "She played really well. She kept us in it."

Anthony Bollinger led the Panthers with 21 points. Fulton added 18 for Meadow Heights, which hit 11 3-pointers.

This was the third straight year Meadow Heights lost to Saxony Lutheran in the conference tournament.

"It's a good rivalry," Brown said. "I just wish we could have won it."

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MVC Tournament Third-place game

Leopold pulled away from Zalma in the fourth period to post a 54-43 victory.

Victor Vandeven led the Wildcats with 16 points.

Daniel Schrader led Zalma with 10 points.

Leopold 54, Zalma 43

Zalma 10 12 9 12 -- 43

Leopold 7 19 11 17 -- 54

ZALMA -- Trevin Taylor 4, Timmy Rodgers 6, Kyle Conley 3, Tim Landing 9, Daniel Schrader 10, Garrett Garner 9. FG 15, FT 9-24, F 13 (3-pointers: Rodgers 2, Garner 2. Fouled out: none)

LEOPOLD -- Matt Stoverink 9, Justin Reed 2, Victor Vandeven 16, Tyler Clubb 4, Eric Fluchel 14, Eric Seiler 5, Cody Cook 2. FG 20, FT 9-16, F 15 (3-pointers: Vandeven 2, Seiler 1. Fouled out: Seiler).

Championship

Saxony Lutheran 78, Meadow Heights 76

Saxony Lutheran 15 24 17 22 -- 78

Meadow Heights 22 18 19 17 -- 76

SAXONY LUTHERAN (78) -- Alex Jauch 25, Casey Petzoldt 20, Lauren Lueders 16, Tim Lorenz 15, Ben Courtois 2. FG 29, FT 15-21, F 8 (3-pointers: Petzoldt 1, Lueders 4. Fouled out: none)

MEADOW HEIGHTS (76) -- Anthony Bollinger 21, Heath Fulton 18, Terry Wagner 12, Nathan Revelle 10, Michael Collier 5, John Long 5, Dustin Davis 4. FG 32, FT 1-2, F 14 (3-pointers: Bollinger 1, Fulton 4, Wagner 2, Revelle 2, Collier 1, Long 1. Fouled out: none)