MR. CLUTCH — Fairmont freshman guard Levi Pooley shoots a free throw during the final seconds of the Cardinals’ cardiac comeback victory over Jackson County Central during the two teams’ Section 3AA, South Sub-Section basketball quarterfinal Thursday night at Cardinal Gym. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Trailing by 10 with five minutes remaining in regulation, Fairmont head basketball coach Jared Thompson needed to find an offensive spark to trigger a potential cardiac comeback in Thursday night’s playoff clash against Jackson County Central at Cardinal Gym.

Freshman guard Levi Pooley literally stepped behind the 3-point arc down the stretch to aptly become the Cardinals’ momentum-changing catalyst that Thompson sought.

Pooley proceeded to reel off 12 of his 14 second-half points during the final 4:12, including an incredible string of three consecutive 3-pointers, to help No. 3-seeded Fairmont outscore the No. 6-seeded JCC Huskies by a mesmerizing 19-1 run to close out a 66-58 sectional comeback win.

Fairmont (7-10) advances to face No. 2-seeded Pipestone Area (9-10) in a 7 p.m. Section 3AA, South Sub-Section semifinal on Saturday night in Pipestone. The Arrows downed the No. 7-seeded St. James Area Saints, 52-38, during Thursday’s South quarterfinal.

“We were down by 12 at halftime and as many as 17 in the second half, but we came back to win by eight. You know, just a ho-hum kind of game with not much to talk about,” Thompson said tongue-in-cheek, with a laugh, about his Cardinals’ one-of-a-kind postseason comeback win. “No, seriously, that was an incredible game by both teams. We overcame a great 30-point performance by Travis Rogotzke by using our usual balanced scoring effort, led this time by Levi Pooley, who hit three magnificent 3s in a row with under three minutes to go.

“Zach (Jorgensen) and Gavin (Junkermeier) came through with double-double performances for us, and don’t forget about the way David Maakestad and Jacob Crissinger hit some big shots for us, especially in the second half.”

Down 50-35 after a Rogotzke breakaway layup off Erik Hesebeck’s court-length baseball pass, Crissinger netted three of his 13 points on the strength of a traditional 3-point play. Gavin Jacobsen, however, answered with a trey to restore the Huskies’ 15-point lead.

Junkermeier, who finished with a team-best 15 points to complement 10 rebounds, followed Crissinger’s pair of free throws with the Cardinals’ next seven points — including a putback-and-1 play to narrow the home team’s gap to 55-47 with 5:12 remaining in regulation.

“Gavin and Zach really worked the boards tonight,” Thompson said in reference to the Cardinals’ 37-27 rebounding edge, including a 22-12 margin in the second half.

After Rogotzke converted a one-and-one situation, the Huskies would manage only Clay Cranston’s solo charity toss during the final 4:12. Pooley sank two free throws, Crissinger banked home a long-distance 3 before Cranston went 1 of 2 at the line.

Enter Pooley from 3-point distance.

The Fairmont freshman buried back-to-back 3s from the right corner off Jorgensen’s drive-and-dish plays before nailing a third straight trifecta from just left of the top of the key to swing a 61-58 lead to Fairmont with 1:08 to go.

Junkermeier’s free throw with 35 seconds left, followed by Maakestad’s two charity tosses put the game out of reach at 64-58 with 18.5 seconds showing.

Jorgensen finished with 11 points and a game-best 11 rebounds to complement three assists, while Maakestad delivered 10 points, three assists and three steals.

Jacobsen netted nine points for the Huskies, who closed out the season with a 3-16 overall record. Carter Ahrens produced six points and doled out three assists, while Rogotzke added three steals.

JCC 36-22–58

FHS 24-42–66

FAIRMONT (66)

Jorgensen 4-13 2-4 11, Junkermeier 5-7 5-7 15, Rosch 0-4 0-0 0, Crissinger 3-10 5-5 13, Maakestad 3-5 2-2 10, Tordsen 1-5 1-3 3, Pooley 4-9 3-4 14, Utermarck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-53 18-25 66.

JACKSON CC (58)

Cranston 1-3 1-2 3, Benda 0-2 0-1 0, Rogotzke 11-18 3-3 30, Jacobsen 4-11 0-3 9, Ahrens 2-8 0-0 6, Hesebeck 0-3 0-0 0, Phaly 2-5 0-2 4, Voss 1-1 1-1 3, Gaustad 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 22-53 6-14 58.

3-pointers: Fairmont 8-20 (Pooley 3-4, Crissinger 2-9, Maakestad 2-3, Jorgensen 1-1, Rosch 0-3); JCC 8-26 (Rogotzke 5-10, Ahrens 2-8, Jacobsen 1-6, Benda 0-2). Fouled out: Benda. Rebounds: Fairmont 37 (Jorgensen 11, Junkermeier 10); JCC 27 (Benda and Hesebeck 5 each). Assists: Fairmont 9 (Jorgensen and Maakestad 3 each); JCC 9 (Ahrens 3). Steals: JCC 10 (Rogotzke and Gaustad 3 each); Fairmont 6 (Maakestad 3).