Forreston stepped up with the game tied entering the fourth quarter against Annawan in a Class 1A Alleman Regional semifinal.

Senior Kendall Erdmann, who has more than 1,500 points in his career, scored seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter as the fifth-seeded Cardinals beat the fourth-seeded Braves 52-44.

Forreston (18-14) advances to face the Associated Press’ 1A No. 1 Newman at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional final. The Comets scored a season high in an 85-63 win over Alleman in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

Forreston sophomore Connor Politsch scored 24 points as he and Cole Goodley (26 points) went back and forth throughout the night. But it was Forreston’s other players who helped seal the win as Erdmann and Brennan Byers (four points) had 11 in the fourth quarter.

“We finished,” Erdmann said. “We missed most of our layups at the beginning, and some shots started to fall.”

He said playing with more energy helped make the difference down the stretch.

Goodley had 10 points in the fourth quarter, but was the only Brave to score in the fourth quarter. Annawan was within three in the final few minutes, but Erdmann answered a Goodley 3 with one of his own. It was his only 3 of the game.

Erdmann said Politsch was a “game-changer.”

“He’s a good kid, he plays hard,” he said. “Without him, we probably wouldn’t have won.”

Annwan led 11-9 after the first quarter before Forreston led 23-19 at halftime. Both teams went back and forth until late.

“We always say that basketball is a game of runs,” Politsch said. “We know we’ve got to stay grounded, stay level-headed. And once they went on that run at the end of the third, we knew we were going to come out hot, and that’s what we did.”

He said the team showed resiliency to pull out the win.

“We’ve been battling all year. It’s been up and down,” he said. “Been battling injuries since early December. When we’re healthy, we’re dangerous.”

Forreston coach Robert DeVries said the team had key stops to pull out the win.

“Kendall and Connor made key plays when we needed to make plays,” he said. “Overall, besides [Goodley] getting a little loose, we really did a nice job on their key players, limiting their baskets.”

DeVries, a former Forreston standout in his first year as the Cardinals’ head coach, is excited for Politsch’s future.

“He’s young and still raw,” DeVries said. “He’s just going to get better and better as it goes.”

Maddux Heitzler had eight points, and Pierce Childs scored six for the Braves (20-7).

With a big test against Newman up next, Politsch said playing at their own pace will be key against the Comets.

“They like to speed people up, turn people over,” Politsch said. “We’ve got to keep it confined to our own game, and hopefully we can come out with the win.”

DeVries said Newman is ranked No. 1 for a reason.

“Coach Ray [Sharp] does an amazing job; amazing teacher,” he said. “We’ve just got to make sure we get back on the break because they run the ball better than anybody in the state.”