Hayfield’s Drew Streightiff handles the ball for Hayfield against Cannon Falls in Mayo Civic Center Arena Monday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

ROCHESTER — Just when it looked the Vikings had taken over, things took a turn for the worse and before they knew it their season was finished.

Hayfield’s Jeremy Stuart battles with Jordan Lundell of Cannon Falls for a rebound in the Section 1AA West semifinals in Mayo Civic Center Arena Monday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

Hayfield committed two costly turnovers in the last minute and it committed a flagrant foul right before time expired as it lost 54-52 in overtime to No. 3 seeded Cannon Falls in the Section 1AA West semifinals in Mayo Civic Center Monday.

The No. 2 seeded Vikings (21-6 overall) had the ball at the end of overtime when Austin Noble of Cannon Falls came up with a steal with just three seconds left and he lobbed the ball up to Hunter Johnson who drew a flagrant foul from Drew Streightiff with .3 seconds left on the clock. Hayfield had a foul to give, so Streightiff was trying to keep Johnson from getting a shot off. It backfired as Johnson stepped up and went two-for-two from the line to end Hayfield’s season.

“At worse we should’ve been in double overtime. Unfortunately the ball bounced their way one time and they made a great play at the end to even turn it into a chance to score,” Hayfield head coach Chris Pack said. “I don’t think he would’ve got a shot off, but you can’t fault Drew. He tried to hustle and get a foul off before he could shoot it.”

Hayfield looked to be headed to the Section 1AA west finals when it took a 52-48 lead after Carter Pesch hit two free throws with 51.8 seconds left in the game, but the Vikings committed two turnovers in the last minute after having just two turnovers in the game’s first 39 minutes.

“We’ve always won all of the close games we’ve been in,” said Hayfield senior Cole Kruger, who had 14 points, three rebounds and four assists in the loss. “Those are the funnest games. It’s a must win when you’re in the bonus and they’re not.”

The Vikings had a chance to win the game in regulation. After Jordan Lundell hit a jump shot to tie things up at 48-48 for CF (20-9 overall), Hayfield ran off a minute and a half of clock before setting up Cam Rutledge for a game-winning 3-pointer. Rutledge had a clean look from the baseline, but it rimmed out as time expired.

The game was a battle throughout as neither team led by more than four throughout the entire contest. There was a total of 15 ties and 16 lead changes in the game.

Kruger finishes his Hayfield career as a 1,000 point scorer, but he wanted the Vikings to make one more postseason run.

“Getting to state [last season] was the greatest thing we accomplished, but since we only played in one round it sucks so much more being done now,” Kruger said. “When you taste just a little of it, you want more.”

Hayfield will graduate starters Merrick Ducharme, who had six points and nine rebounds, Jeremy Stuart, who had 11 points and six rebounds, Streightiff, who had 10 points and Carter Pesch.

“It’s a tough way for them to end their career,” Pack said. “It’s going to sting for awhile, but they’re going to look back and realize what a great career they had and what a great season it was.”

Hayfield 28 20 4 — 52

CF 28 20 6 — 54

Hayfield scoring: Cole Kruger, 14; Jeremy Stuart, 11; Drew Streightiff, 10; Merrick Ducharme, 6; Cam Rutledge, 6; Carter Pesch, 5; turnovers: 4