MANKATO – New Ulm Cathedral came up clutch in the overtime period of a Tomahawk-Valley Conference crossover boys basketball game against Mankato Loyola, outplaying the Crusaders for a 69-66 win.

It was a close game throughout, with neither team gaining much of a lead over the other.

Several players had big moments for the Greyhounds in overtime, notably Jake Finstad and Colin Anderson.

Finstad hit a 3-pointer to start the period, along with a clutch recovery of a loose ball to extend an offensive possession and a steal that turned into a layup for Finstad. Anderson, meanwhile, hit a deep 3-pointer late in the shot clock and two free throws for Cathedral’s final points of the game. Colin Anderson also hit a 3-pointer right before halftime to tie the game at 27, along with his 3-pointer in overtime.

Jack Edwards led the Greyhounds with 17 points and nine rebounds in the game, while Eli Anderson, Jake Finstad and Colin Anderson each had 13 points. Joe Gillis had 9 points, five assists and five rebounds.

The two teams were trading buckets early, with Loyola taking an early 17-13 lead. Ryler Collins banked in a 3-pointer to cut the lead down to 17-16, but Loyola made a 3-pointer of its own to extend the lead back out to 20-16. The teams continued to battle, with Eli Anderson hitting a corner 3 to set up Edwards for a steal and a layup to go up 24-22, but Loyola scored 5 straight to go up 27-24. Anderson banked in his 3 at the buzzer to tie the game at 27.

Loyola took an early lead once more in the second half, going up 34-30 and held onto a small lead for several minutes until Gillis tied the game with a layup at 44. Loyola retook the lead with a finish through a foul by Covin Winter to go up 46-44, followed by a scoreless stretch that lasted several minutes.

Cathedral got the scoring going again with a 3-pointer from Eli Anderson to take a 47-46 lead, which Edwards built on with a layup in transition. Loyola hit a 3-pointer to tie the game once more, but Finstad responded with a 3-pointer of his own. The lead continued to go back and forth between the teams, with Loyola’s Christian Baker hitting the final shot of regulation with 50 seconds to play to tie the game at 57.

After Finstad’s 3-pointer to open overtime, Edwards extended the lead to 62-57 on a layup. Loyola’s Preston Grams hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to 2, but Finstad got a steal that led to a layup to push the lead out to 4. After a made free throw by Loyola, Finstad was able to dive on a loose ball to extend the shot clock, leading to Colin Anderson’s deep 3-pointer to get the lead out to 67-61. Loyla quickly made a shot to cut it back to 67-63, but Colin Anderson calmly hit two free throws in the bonus to go up 6 with just 5.7 seconds to go. Loyola hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer went off, but it wasn’t enough to steal the victory from the Greyhounds.

Cathedral (6-10) travels to play Lester Prairie on Tuesday.