ROCHELLE — With its back against the wall late in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s IHSA Class 3A Regional Final against the Belvidere Bucs, the Hubs varsity basketball team found a way to get back in the game.

But despite cutting the Bucs’ lead to two points with 10.2 seconds to go, Belvidere made one free throw on the other end after a Rochelle foul, and a buzzer-beating heave by Hubs senior Landon Griffith went off the back of the iron, clinching Belvidere’s regional title by 61-58 victory.

“I wish I had the words to convey how much I care about each and every one of these kids,” head coach Tim Thompson said after the game. “Their hearts are in the right place and they were trying to do something special for the school, for the community and for themselves. They’re beat up right now but they’re beat up because they care so deeply.”

Rochelle (20-8) entered Friday night’s contest seeking its first regional title since 2009, while Belvidere (17-13) was aiming to claim back-to-back championships after beating Genoa-Kingston 63-55 in last year’s regional finals. The Bucs had won six of their last seven games prior to facing the Hubs, frustrating Marian Central Catholic on Wednesday in the semifinal round en route to a 46-32 win over the Hurricanes.

Behind a stiff zone defense that fooled the Hurricanes into committing 16 first-half turnovers Wednesday, the Bucs held the Hubs to just two baskets in the first quarter, jumping out to a 13-5 lead inside a packed house at Rochelle Township High School.

“They bring their zone out so high and they make it very difficult to get an inside touch,” Thompson said. “They wouldn’t let our guys get off 3-pointers since they knew it was something we’d want to do. When we got the ball in the post we were having a tough time facing up and finding the guy diving to the basket.”

Belvidere extended its lead in the second quarter behind strong efforts from guards Austin Revolinski and Nate Horton, who combined for 29 points in the regional victory. With Rochelle coming within six at the end of the first half, Horton nailed a tough 3-pointer from the left side of the arc to give the Bucs a 33-24 advantage heading into the locker room.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Hubs began to find the holes in the Belvidere zone. Senior Kyle Seebach scored nearly all of his team-high 15 points in the second half on the low post, and the 6-foot-8-inch forward hit several key free throws to help Rochelle maintain its distance.

Sophomore Johnny Beck scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter including four consecutive free throws after a personal foul and a technical foul by the Bucs. Beck cut the Belvidere lead to 56-50 with 1:26 to go in the game, and 3-point baskets by Griffith and junior Riley Lodico, who teamed up for 16 Rochelle points, made it a 60-58 game with 10.2 seconds left.

The Bucs turned the ball over on their ensuing inbounds pass, with senior forward Matt Albers intercepting the ball and passing it up to Griffith, who put up a reverse layup that barely bounced out of the rim. Both teams battled for the rebound, with the ball rolling out of bounds in favor of Belvidere.

“You have to give Belvidere credit,” Thompson said. “They came out and won this game, I wouldn’t say that we lost this game. That’s what has to happen in regional championship games.”

Will Morris went to the free-throw line after being fouled on the next inbounds pass, and the Belvidere forward hit his first shot to finish with 13 points. But he missed his second attempt, and with 2.3 seconds to go Beck grabbed the rebound and fired up a pass to Griffith, who launched a half-court shot that almost went down. The Belvidere fans at the east end of the bleachers mobbed their team as the buzzer sounded and Rochelle’s brilliant season came to an abrupt end.

The loss puts the Hubs at 20-8 overall and 8-5 in the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference, and while the team will be graduating eight senior players, Thompson is hoping his returning boys will use Friday night’s game as a learning experience moving forward.

“I think these kids have battled all year long with a great senior class,” he said. “They’re going to be ready to go next year.”