But after the Lancers furiously rallied and cut a 10-point deficit with two minutes remaining to two in the closing seconds, North Penn-Mansfield needed their point guard to deliver something big.

And he obliged.

Lawrence calmly sank two game-clinching free throws with 2.4 seconds left as North Penn-Mansfield edged Loyalsock, 66-62 and ended its four-year title reign in thrilling fashion at a jam-packed Mike Mussina Court in Montoursville.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything but making the free throws,” Lawrence said. “I’ve been at the free throw in some big games, so it was really nothing.”

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Jaylen Andrews of Loyalsock tries to score against North Penn-Mansfield on Tuesday.

And yet it was everything.

Had Lawrence missed just one or both, Loyalsock (14-11) would have had a chance to win or tie. Instead, Lawrence became the latest Tiger to excel under pressure at the line as North Penn-Mansfield (24-2) went 11 of 13 there in the fourth quarter to earn its first district final appearance since 2018.

The Tigers will meet NTL rival Troy for the championship this weekend at a time and place to be determined. It was a huge night for the NTL as North Penn-Mansfield and Troy denied the Heartland Conference a finalist in this rugged field for the first time during the 2000s. Loyalsock still has a shot at reaching states for a seventh straight season and will play Warrior Run for the field’s final berth this weekend.

“We spend a lot of time in practice working on free throws,” Lawrence said. “It paid off.”

Karson Dominick went 8 for 8 at the line in the final quarter and 13 of 15 for the game, while scoring a team-high 23 points. Six Tigers scored at least seven points and Cooper Shaw scored nine of his 11 in the third quarter when North Penn-Mansfield kept fighting off Loyalsock charges.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock plays North Penn-Mansfield during Tuesday's District 4 Class AAA semifinal.

North Penn-Mansfield never trailed after the first quarter, but this was a riveting contest throughout as the Tigers won each quarter by one point. And in the second half, Lawrence kept producing key plays whenever it felt like Loyalsock was on the verge of going ahead.

Battling back from an injury, Lawrence is fully healthy again and he made Loyalsock sick throughout the second half. An outstanding defender, Lawrence scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, dealt four of his five assists there and grabbed a big offensive rebound which extended a possession and led to points.

Lawrence made a steal and a reverse layup to put North Penn-Mansfield up five early in the fourth and his dish to Brody Burleigh (8 rebounds) gave the Tigers a 58-48 lead with two minutes remaining.

“Having him back 100 percent is just huge because he’s kind of the glue,” North Penn-Mansfield coach Kipper Burleigh said. “He’s often our best defensive player and he usually makes the best decisions with the ball.”

After Lawrence found Burleigh to make it a 10-point game with two minutes remaining, it felt like North Penn-Mansfield had landed a knockout blow. Instead, the four-time defending champions valiantly fought off the ropes and started landing haymakers.

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock plays North Penn-Mansfield during Tuesday's District 4 Class AAA semifinal.

Jaylen Andrews scored a game-high 25 points and his 3-pointer a few seconds later fanned the flames which soon became an inferno. Tarik Abdul-Hakim made a steal and found Gage Patterson for a layup, and it was 58-53 with 1:19 remaining. Another Andrews 3-pointer cut it to 60-56 17 seconds later.

Dominick made two free throws, but Tyler Gee countered with two for Loyalsock. Then, after having not played in the game’s first 31 minutes, Krish Patel hit the shot of his life, draining a foul-line jumper as Loyalsock trailed 62-60 with 21 seconds left.

Again, Dominick answered at the line, swishing two more clutch free throws. Again, Loyalsock answered as Nate Bauman (5 assists) scored on a layup. But with Loyalsock out of timeouts, North Penn-Mansfield took its time with the inbound pass and by the time Lawrence was fouled, 2.4 seconds remained. Lawrence then ended the game at the line as North Penn-Mansfield reached the final for the first time at the Class AAA level.

Finally, the champions had been vanquished but not before showing the heart which enabled to reach those heights over the years.

“We made a gallant effort and played with a lot of energy,” Loyalsock coach Ron Insinger said. But we just had some moments where we broke down. Little things like missed foul shots become monumental in a game when you lose by four points.”

It felt like this game was being played on a yo-yo at times. The final three quarters featured North Penn-Mansfield starting each one with quick flurries before Loyalsock came thundering back. Just when it felt like Loyalsock was going to take over, North Penn-Mansfield would pull the string back and build its lead back up.

Patterson had a fantastic night, scoring 13 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dealing five assists and making four steals. His last-second putback pulled Loyalsock within 27-25 at halftime and the Lancers cut it to one early in the third before Shaw drained two quick 3-pointers and pushed it to seven. Loyalsock again pulled within one but it as a three-point game entering the fourth and two Dominick foul shots made it 50-40 two minutes into the final quarter.

“The little things are what we really what helped us win tonight,” Lawrence said. “We love each other. We play with great chemistry because we’ve been playing together so long. Everyone contributes something good.”

That was the case again Tuesday with Alex Davis scoring six of his nine points in the fourth quarter and Andrew Green providing a first-half lift with seven points off the bench. Dominick had six rebounds and four assists to go with his 23 points. Other teams have crumbled in the past when Loyalsock started making runs, but North Penn-Mansfield kept picking up the pieces and putting the puzzle back together.

Because extra-curricular activities were canceled at North Penn-Mansfield Monday, the Tigers had not practiced since last Friday. It did not matter. They kept finding ways to persevere and denied Loyalsock a sixth straight district championship appearance.

“We couldn’t chop away because they just answered every time. We sent a couple to the line, but it didn’t matter who we sent to the line, they buried them,” Insinger said. “Credit to Kipper and his squad because they rode high all season and they deserved to win it tonight. They made the shots when they had to.”

LOYALSOCK (62)

Jaylen Andrews 10 0-0 25, Nate Bauman 3 0-0 7, Gage Patterson 5 3-7 13, Tyler Gee 2 3-4 7, Ethan Nagy 1 1-2 3, Tarik Abdul-Hakim 2 0-0 5, Alec Kulp 0 0-0 0, Isiah Jennings 0 0-0 0, Josh Bomboy 0 0-0 0, Krish Patel 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 7-13 62.

NP-MANSFELD (66)

Karson Dominick 4 13-15 23, Brody Burleigh 3 1-4 7, Cooper Shaw 4 0-0 11, Sammy Lawrence 3 3-5 9, Alex Davis 2 5-6 9, Andrew Green 3 0-0 7, Cade Kurzejewski 0 0-0 0, Tayton Strange 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 22-30 66.

Loyalsock 11 14 13 24–62

NP-Mansfield 12 15 14 25–66

3-pointers: Loyalsock 7 (Andrews 5, Bauman, Abdul-Hakim); NP-Mansfield 6 (Shaw 3, Dominick 2, Green).

Records: North Penn-Mansfield 24-2. Loyalsock 14-11.