CEDAR FALLS - The fact is, there were very few who figured the Cedar Rapids Jefferson boys stood a chance against Cedar Falls Tuesday night at the McLeod Center.

But the ones who knew they could pull off an upset were the ones playing the game. And they grew more confident as the battle wore on.

They weren't knocked out early, they stayed close throughout, they grabbed a lead late and, when it was all on the line, they hit clutch shots and stayed calm.

It's as if it was meant to be when their inspirational leader, senior Taylor Olson, tore down the court with four seconds left in overtime and cooly dropped in a layup at the buzzer for a 67-65 shocker.

With a heart-stopping victory over the Class 4A third-ranked team, the J-Hawks (15-8) will now face No. 1 Ankeny (23-0) in the first round of the state tournament next Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

"I knew all along we could do it, I really did," Olson said afterward. "We'd been in close games before, so we were used to that.

"And I have all the confidence in the world in these J-Hawks. We didn't panic."

Indeed not

Behind all the way, once by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, they refused to give up or give in. When the adrenaline-fueled Tyler Hemphill hit his second straight 3-pointer of the night with 2:55 to go in regulation to tie it at 59-59, destiny seemed to be suddenly on Jefferson's side.

Two Tiger turnovers later, Olson gave his team its first lead of the game at 61-59 when he drove past Cedar Falls speedster James Harrington for a lay-in. Hemphill then made one of two free throws to stretch the margin to three points, 62-59.

With 24 seconds left in regulation, Harrington hit two free throws to pull the Tigers within 62-61. Cedar Falls then got the ball on one of only Jefferson three turnovers for the night.

A questionable foul call on Hemphill put Harrington back on the line with 4.6 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter. With the game in his hands, he made the first shot but missed the second, sending the game into overtime at 62-62.

Harrington missed another free throw with 1:56 left in overtime with his team ahead 65-62. As if on cruise control, Hemphill came right back with yet another trey to knot the score again at 65-65.

"I didn't think about it," he said. "But I wasn't nervous. It just felt good."

The gritty J-Hawks proved their mettle in the next minute and a half by absolutely denying Cedar Falls any attempt to shoot. And when Olson picked up a sloppy pass in the waning seconds (the last of the Tigers' seven turnovers for the game), he kept his eye on the goal for his end-of-game heroics.

"It seemed like forever," he said of his full-court sprint, "but I was watching the clock the whole way."

With the win, Jefferson goes to the state tournament for the third straight year and the fourth in Coach Stu Ordman's career at the school.

"I'm very proud of these guys," he said. "They never quit. I told them before the game that I believed in them.

"They're wonderful players, but they're also good guys. I feel very blessed."

Jefferson shot 55 percent on 22 of 40 field goals. The J-Hawks connected on 13 of 19 from behind the 3-point arc with excellent shooting.

Cedar Falls shot 47 percent and outrebounded Jefferson, 33-17. The J-Hawks did not have any offensive rebounds.

Alec Saunders, who scored 16 points for the winners with four 3-pointers, said it was the defense that won the game.

"We wanted to shut down Harrington, and Taylor and Ky (Kramer) did a great job on him. Then we just had to execute our game plan," he said. "And we did it. It was an amazing game."

Olson led the J-Hawks with 22 points. Hemphill added 12.

Harrington led all scorers with 26 points in his final game for the Tigers (20-3).

JEFFERSON (67): Alec Saunders 5-9 2-2 16, Creighton Robinson 2-4 0-0 6, Ky Kramer 3-8 1-2 9, Tyler Hemphill 4-6 1-3 12, Taylor Olson 7-12 6-8 22, Jacob Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Goodell 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Underwood 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-40 10-15 67.

CEDAR FALLS (65): James Harrington 7-17 9-12 26, Caleb Konieczny 0-8 0-0 0, Kalund Brown 8-12 1-1 17, Isaac Boettger 3-5 0-0 6, Tony Johnson 4-5 1-1 11, Kalehl Brown 2-4 0-0 5, Nick Clark 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 11-14 65.

Halftime - Cedar Falls 37, Jefferson 31. End of regulation - Jefferson 62, Cedar Falls 62. 3-point goals - Jefferson 13-19 (Saunders 4-6, Hemphill 3-3, T.Olson 2-2, Robinson 2-4, Kramer 2-4), Cedar Falls 6-16 (Harrington 3-4, Johnson 2-3, Kalehl Brown 1-2, Kalund Brown 0-1, Konieczny 0-6). Rebounds - Jefferson 17 (T.Olson 8), Cedar Falls 33 (Boettger 12). Turnovers - Jefferson 3, Cedar Falls 7. Total fouls - Jefferson 14, Cedar Falls 13. Fouled out - None.