PEORIA – As time passes Rockford Lutheran’s fourth place finish at this weekend’s state basketball finals will seem pretty special.

The immediate reaction was disappointment as the Crusaders fell 87-56 to Chicago-Morgan Park in Saturday’s Class 3A third-place game at Carver Arena.

But there was also a sense of pride as Lutheran wrapped up its second consecutive trip to the Class 3A state finals.

“We had an incredible year and to finish it here at Carver Arena, there’s so much to be proud of,” said head coach Tom Guse.

Lutheran also finished fourth in 2014 after a third-place finish in 2012 under Guse.

The Crusaders (29-4) led for exactly 15 seconds before the Mustangs launched a blitz that included 18 3-pointers.

Guard Jarrin Randall had a game-high 34 points, including 10-for-19 from 3-point range. Forward Nate Wieting led Lutheran with 17 points while guard Joe Kellen added 11.

For Morgan Park, the third-place victory offered some consolation after being denied a shot at a third straight Class 3A championship. Belleville Althoff beat the Chicago Public League team 82-74 in Friday’s semifinals.

The tournament will remain at Carver Arena as the Illinois High School Association board voted to renew contracts through 2020 for the Peoria venue for boys and Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena for the girls finals.