By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
FAUCETT - Just five days ago, North Andrew got to play a district championship game on their home floor for the first time in years.
They had to dig deep and sink some late free throws in order to beat Bishop LeBlond 51-46.
Now in the state sectional playoffs, the Cardinals had to go on the road and try and recreate their postseason magic from last week in another close game.
They did that.
North Andrew (21-8) won its fifth straight game, outlasting District 15 champion Mid-Buchanan, 48-45, in front of a capacity crowd on the Dragons' home floor in a Class 2 sectional playoff Tuesday.
There's no doubt - last week's nail biter against the Eagles proved to be a key learning experience, as North Andrew went toe-to-toe with another area contender yet again.
"It really helped us be calm late in the game," said senior Tanner McDaniel, who scored 11 for the Cardinals. "Especially whenever it gets close. Like tonight, it got close and (the LeBlond game) helped prepare us for that again."
Getting behind 6-2 early, North Andrew reeled off a 9-0 run to grab an early lead, but Mid-Buchanan hit back. Senior Javan Noyes buried a trio of threes, including one right before the buzzer, to put the Dragons ahead 15-13 after one quarter.
Neither team faltered in the second, as senior Brewer Wheeler hit a couple of threes to put North Andrew ahead by as many as six, but junior Caiden Bailey answered back with a triple, and the Dragons only trailed 34-32 at halftime.
Both teams struggled to get into a rhythm offensively in the third quarter, as North Andrew outscored Mid-Buchanan 9-6 over those eight minutes.
The Cardinals had built their biggest lead, 41-33, with about a minute to go in the third, but a quick stop-and-pop three by Noyes, and then a steal and quick transition by Noyes, made it 41-38 in a matter of 15 seconds.
Noyes ended up with a game-high 17 points - 15 of that was from three.
Senior Keaton Hannah was able to make a quick baseline jumper just a few seconds before the end of the third however, putting North Andrew back up two possessions, 43-38.
Right from the get-go in the fourth, it was anyone's guess as to who was going to win. After another big three from Noyes, and a couple of layups by sophomore Joe Clark and senior Stetson Lieffring, Mid-Buchanan only trailed 46-45 with 1:03 left.
North Andrew held the ball for as long as they could after that, and eventually, drew enough fouls to reach the bonus.
With 32.3 left, Brewer Wheeler converted both free throws in a critical one-and-one, putting the Cardinals ahead 48-45.
"(Mid-Buchanan) is a great team," Wheeler said after scoring a team-high 12 points. "It's a good win. They're one of the best in the state, so it feels good to come into their house and get a win."
Mid-Buchanan (21-6) tried to draw up a tying shot in the half-court a couple of times, using a timeout with just under eight seconds left. A ball that went out-of-bounds with 1.2 remaining gave the Dragons one last look and it wasn't a bad one.
Caiden Bailey threw up a contested, fall-away three- point attempt from the left wing that hit the iron, but bounced off.
North Andrew is back in the Elite 8 for the first time since 2018, when the Cardinals took third at state.
"There's been a lot of grind and a lot of hard work and emotion put into this," said a winded, but jubilant coach Wade Bryson afterward. "Right now, I'm just happy and proud of my guys."
The Cardinals will face Lakeland (24-1) on Friday at 6 p.m. Lakeland throttled Wellington-Napoleon, 79-46, on Tuesday.
Coach Bryson admitted - as of Tuesday night, he didn't know a whole lot about either team.
"Thank God for all of the livestreams this year," he said. "We're excited to still be playing at this point. We're thankful to get to practice two more times. No matter who we play Friday, we're looking forward to it."
North Andrew 48 - 13, 21, 9, 4
Mid-Buchanan 45 - 15, 17, 6, 7
North Andrew scorers - Brewer Wheeler - 12, Tanner McDaniel - 11, Clayton Linville - 10, Hayden Ecker - 7, Owen Graham - 4, Keaton Hannah - 4
Mid-Buchanan scorers - Javan Noyes - 17, Joe Clark - 7, Stetson Lieffring - 5, Caiden Bailey - 9, Blake Hunter - 3, Tyler Brown - 2, Lane Ellison 2.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.