Rockford Christian 63, North Boone 49: Rockford Christian may be young, but the three seniors on the roster don’t want to be forgotten.

“They’re not ready to be done yet,” Royals coach Cedric Jones said.

Ben Erickson, Conrad Ognibene and Grant Anderson combined for 10 points on the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to lead the Royals to a 63-49 win against North Boone Tuesday at the Christian Life Regional.

No. 3 Rockford Christian (16-5) will play top-seeded Lutheran (16-8) for the Class 2A regional title at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Lutheran advanced with a 55-29 win against Christian Life.

A team that includes six sophomores and four freshmen, Rockford Christian won the game at the free-throw line. The Royals went 14 for 17 in the fourth quarter, while North Boone (9-16) hit 3 of 8.

The three seniors went 10 for 13, while sophomore Brayden Teuscher added the other five frees and finished with 22 points.

“That’s the difference in the game,” North Boone coach Lennie Doetch said. “We had the scouting report. We knew who to foul. But we couldn’t find anybody, because they all played well.”

Rockford Christian used a 15-3 run to close the second quarter, and the Royals led 32-23 at halftime.

Rockford Christian owned as much as a 15-point lead in the third, but North Boone came back with 3-pointers from Tyler Bielski, Jared Boehmke and Addem Wynstra, and the Vikings came as close as six points, 53-47, with 4:12 left in the game. But the Royals sealed the win at the free-throw line.

“We’re ready to get some respect,” Teuscher said. “We’re not just a young team. We have three seniors who are leaders, and like our coach said, we don’t want to be done yet.”

Drew Anderson and Ognibene finished with 15 and 11 points for the Royals. Bielski (13), Wynstra (11) and Boehmke (10) scored in double figures for the Vikings.

- Emily Tropp, rrstar.com