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IRVINE – Crean Lutheran needed overtime to beat persistent St. Margaret’s, 61-58, Thursday in an Academy League game at Crean Lutheran High.

The win improved Crean Lutheran to 14-6 overall and 5-0 in league. St. Margaret’s is 10-5 overall and 2-1 in league.

Crean Lutheran, ranked No. 6 in CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA, had a 13-point lead late in the third quarter. But St. Margaret’s, No. 5 in 4A, made one of its many surges as Ryan Cragun scored 10 of his 24 points in the quarter to reduce the Saints’ lead to 38-33 going into the fourth quarter.

It looked like Crean was going to pull away again midway through the fourth when Isaiah Johnson converted a 3-point play to push the Saints’ lead to 46-42.

The Tartans rallied again. Tyler Horgan’s two free throws with 50 seconds left made it 50-50 to conclude regulation scoring and send the game into overtime. Horgan finished with a game-high 25 points.

In the extra period, Chris Swardstrom, who was 0 for 5 on 3-point shots in regulation, made two 3s in a row to give the Saints a 58-52 lead. The Tartans closed it to 59-58 on a Cragun 3-pointer with 23 seconds left, but that would conclude their scoring.

In the final seconds, Crean’s Michael Bagatourian grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to make it 61-58.

Bagatourian finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Tim Ghita scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Saints.

Crean Lutheran coach Josh Beaty was impressed by the Tartans’ fortitude.

“Those two seniors of theirs (Cragun and Horgan) did such a great job for them,” Beaty said. “And we didn’t play our best game offensively.”

Crean’s gym, a large canvas-domed structure nicknamed “The Tent,” was loud throughout the contest.

“The atmosphere was intense,” Ghita said. “It was like a CIF playoff game in here.”

The teams meet again Feb. 2 in a league game at St. Margaret’s.

Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com