FORT COLLINS - With the game on the line and with an opportunity to knock off tournament favorite Faith Christian, Eaton turned to sophomore Seth Lobato.

When the play didn't go exactly as Eaton coach Dean Grable drew it up, Lobato improvised, sealing off a lane for teammate Lance Korell.

Korell's layup with 0.9 seconds to play lifted the Reds to an improbable 55-53 victory against Faith Christian in the Class 3A state semifinals at Moby Arena.

The win by Eaton (23-3) was improbable because the Eagles (25-1) were the overwhelming favorite to win it all and had pounded the Reds by 20 points earlier in the season.

But Eaton played close to a perfect first half to build an early lead, then weathered a frenzied comeback by Faith Christian to win on Korell's last-second shot.

"I've been telling the kids that anybody can get beat on any given night," Grable said. "We handled the pressure when we needed to and we made some big plays."

Eaton stormed out strong and had the Eagles reeling from the opening tip. The Reds shot a blistering 59 percent from the floor in the first half (16-for-27) and led by as many as 14 in the second quarter.

Cody Ball hit all six of his field- goal attempts in the first two quarters, and Eaton nailed four three-pointers in that stretch.

But Faith Christian, which had won all its games by at least nine points, came out of the locker room inspired to start the third quarter. The Eagles used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 39-34 with 5:52 to play in the quarter.

The Reds held the lead and had a 53-46 cushion with 3:07 remaining in the fourth. Faith Christian scored the next seven points, though, tying it on Jobi Wall's long jumper with a minute to play.

Eaton worked the clock before calling a timeout with 14 seconds showing. The Reds wanted to get the ball to the 6-foot-5 Lobato, but Korell found an open lane to the hoop.

Lobato sealed off two Faith Christian defenders, including shot blocker Graham Yantis, allowing Korell open access.

"I saw (Korell) had a step, so I just tried to clear the lane," said Lobato, who scored a game-high 15 points.

Said Faith Christian coach Andrew Hasz: "I felt if we could get it to overtime, we would be fine. They just made a great play."

Eaton......22	15	9	9	-	55
Faith Christian......15	10	15	13	-	53

E - Lance Korell 6 0-0 13, Drew Geisick 4 3-4 13, Drew Smith 0 0-0 0, Cody Ball 7 0-0 14, Seth Lobato 6 2-4 15, Cameron Stewart 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-8 55.

FC - Jobi Wall 3 2-2 9, Abram Ziemer 5 1-3 12, Marcus Kirkwood 1 0-1 2, Vince Colson 4 2-2 10, Nick Gill 5 0-0 11, Graham Yantis 2 3-6 7, Tim Yeager 1 0-0 2, Chase Grabau 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-14 53.

Three-point goals - E, Geisick 2, Korell, Lobato; FC, Gill, Wall, Ziemer. Fouled out - Gill.

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