SEDALIA, Mo. - The law of averages caught up with the Helias Crusaders at the wrong time.
Helias finished the second quarter of Tuesday's Class 4 sectional game against Grandview on a 14-0 run. But in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders shot just 1-of-11 from the field.
Grandview overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Helias 55-51 at Sedalia Smith-Cotton High School, ending the Crusaders' season with a 20-8 record.
Helias managed just six points in the final eight minutes.
"We had some great looks inside and out," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "They just didn't go down."
Helias, which led 33-25 at halftime, never trailed in the second half until the 1:14 mark of the fourth quarter. Deandre Sorrells, who missed his first three attempts from 3-point range, finally got a 3 to fall for his only points of the game.
Sorrells' basket broke a tie at 50 and Grandview led the rest of the way.
Landon Harrison, who led Helias with a game-high 26 points, missed a pair of 3-point shots on the ensuing possession, and the Crusaders were forced to foul with less than 40 seconds to play.
Grandview then missed the front end of three consecutive one-and-ones, but Helias failed to capitalize on any of the opportunities.
Nathan Bax was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one, Harrison had a 3-point attempt blocked and Grandview's Jordan Lathon intercepted a pass from Alex Buschjost with less than 10 seconds to play.
"I've always said in the postseason you have to catch a few breaks," Buffington said. "Our kids worked so hard to get to this point. A few plays here and there and we're heading to the Elite Eight."
Lathon stepped to the free-throw line with :07.5 on the clock and made 1-of-2 free throws to make the score 54-50, giving Grandview a two-possession lead.
Harrison raced down the court and drew a foul on a 3-point try with :03.3 left. He made one free throw and the Crusaders still trailed by three.
Lathon drew another foul and again made 1-of-2 free throws to ice the win for Grandview, which will appear in the Class 4 quarterfinals for the fourth time in six seasons.
Lathon and Mason Taylor each scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs. Tremaine Banks and Cartez Crook-Jones finished with nine points each.
Helias won the rebound battle against Grandview 37-36, but Buffington said the Bulldogs had some key rebounds in the second half.
"We struggled keeping them off the glass, that fourth quarter especially," Buffington said. "We had done so well for three quarters. Their athleticism just caught up to us late in that game."
The two teams were tied at 7 midway through the first quarter. Helias then scored seven straight points, but Grandview finished the quarter on a 7-0 run to tie the game again at 14.
Helias trailed 25-19 - its largest deficit of the game - midway through the second quarter. Grandview had multiple chances to add to its lead, but couldn't get shots to fall.
The Crusaders got back-to-back 3s from Harrison and Nick Brandt to take a 26-25 lead with 1:49 left in the half. Marcus Anthony, who scored all of his nine points in the first half, got a 3 to go down with :33 left.
Harrison went coast-to-coast and made a running floater just before the buzzer to give the Crusaders an 8-point lead at intermission.
"We felt great," Buffington said. "Any time you go on a 14-0 run, you feel good about yourself. The way we did it was excellent. We just kept defending.
"To go on a 14-0 run on that team is pretty impressive."
Harrison then made a 3 on Helias' opening possession of the second half to give the Crusaders 17 unanswered points.
The Helias junior finished the season with 687 points, just 10 shy of the program's single-season record set by Jamaal Tatum in 2001-02. Harrison will start next season needing 619 points to break Tatum's career scoring record of 1,785 points.
"(Harrison's) a phenomenal player," Buffington said. "That's the best individual season of any player I've ever coached. Don't be shocked if he does it again next year."
The Crusaders will return four of their five starters next season. The lone senior in the starting lineup, Dalton Weaver, finished with six points and a game-high nine rebounds.
"We're going to miss Dalton Weaver and Drew Boessen, two seniors who have done so much for our program," Buffington said.
Grandview (24-4) will face Bolivar (25-4) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar.