When Trenton Krueger fouled out with 22 seconds to go at Macalester, it looked like St. Croix Lutheran’s season was over.

Minneapolis Roosevelt guard Arione Farrar went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line to give the Teddies a 44-43 lead. Then the Crusaders brought the ball down the floor and Krueger’s replacement, Tommy Metcalf, found himself wide open from the left elbow.

The senior forward nailed the midrange shot, sealing the victory and sending St. Croix Lutheran to the state tournament.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Metcalf said. “Before that I hit the side of the backboard.”

Metcalf isn’t a natural scorer like Krueger, who finished with 15 points, but he was the hero Friday.

“We usually joke around that he has more fouls than shot attempts,” Crusaders coach Jay Wendland said.

Minneapolis Roosevelt coach Robert Mestas left the game in the first half for medical reasons. Jason Daisy was the Teddies’ acting head coach from there. After the game, Mestas left the building on a stretcher breathing from an oxygen mask.

“He’s had just some issues like that before, so I don’t know what happened to him. I think he was just exhausted or something,” Daisy said. “Coaching you can kind of overexert yourself sometimes.”

St. Croix Lutheran defeated Minneapolis Roosevelt 45-44 in the Class 2A, Section 4 championship Friday at Macalester College to advance to the state tournament.

Minneapolis Roosevelt took a 44-43 lead with 22 seconds left in the second half after Arione Farrar went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, but a Tommy Metcalf jump shot after that was the game-winner for St. Croix Lutheran.

The Crusaders’ Ade Lamu was pivotal, scoring 12 points while playing sound defense. The junior guard emphatically blocked a Farrar fast-break layup late in the second half.

St. Croix Lutheran also had a strong presence inside courtesy of junior forward Trenton Krueger, who finished with 15 points before fouling out late in the contest.

But Metcalf’s shot — his only two points scored — sealed the game.