MOORHEAD -- The cheers of Pelican Rapids fans echoed throughout the Memorial Auditorium after Vikings forward Jack Welch sank his second free-throw attempt.
The foul shot gave Pelican Rapids a three-point lead with 14.6 seconds left in the contest. Barnesville put up a 3-point ball to tie, but the shot fell off the mark.
The No. 4 Vikings defeated the No. 3 Barnesville Trojans 59-56 in the Minnesota Section 8-2A boys basketball championship on Friday night at Memorial Auditorium at Concordia College.
"The second one had me on the edge there, too," Welch said of his late-game free throws. "But it went in, we got a three-point lead and we got a couple key stops at the end of the game."
Pelican Rapids advances to the Class 2A state tournament with quarterfinals scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, at either Target Center or Williams Arena in Minneapolis.
The Vikings will make their second consecutive state tournament appearance after a season that saw multiple players sidelined.
"We've battled through injuries the whole year," said Pelican Rapids head coach Jon Gullingsrud. "(We) started out with injuries and (had) more at the end. It's just a special, special moment."
Barnesville opened the second half with a 9-0 run that was capped with Gannon Bolgrean finishing a Euro-step layup. The Trojans led 47-40 with 14:23 left.
Welch put down an alley-oop off a serve from Ethan Isaman to make it a two-point game with 9:18 to play. Welch sank a floater to tie the game at 50-50 with 8:04 to play.
Both teams traded the lead, but the Vikings pieced together a 5-0 run with 2:24 to play to make 58-54. Barnesville guard Nicholas Robideau made a layup, but Welch's free-throw would be the final point.
"It feels really good to get this one against Barnesville, a really good conference team," Welch said.
Grant Quiggle and Bolgrean both ended with 16 points for the Trojans. Robideau added 13 points. Barnesville made 7 of 11 free throws.
"They've grown a lot," said Barnesville head coach Matt Askegaard. "We've gone through a lot. We've done a lot of things together. We just came up short tonight."
Askegaard commended his senior class for their impact on Barnesville basketball.
"Those seniors did a lot for the community," Askegaard said. "I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the entire team."
Miguel Torres led the Vikings with 20 points and Welch tallied 14 points. Pelican Rapids made 14 of 19 free throws. The Vikings will look to make the most of next week in the Twin Cities.
"We'll definitely be the underdogs," Gullingsrud said. "We're going to compete and keep doing what we've been doing."