Through the entire evening, the only thing Flora head coach Phil Leib struggled with was how to cut the net down with a pocketknife.

“I don’t have scissors. I didn’t think to bring any,” Leib said.

Nearly 1000 fans wearing orange watched Leib hold the net at the top of ladder at Lantz Arena Tuesday night as the Flora Wolves defeated the Tuscola Warriors 69-58 in the Class A Super-sectionals..

With the win, Flora (25-9) advanced to the State Finals in Peoria for the first time since 1984.

“It’s been 21 years since the last time I’ve been here, and this team is full of hometown heroes but now what they did tonight is so special,” Leib said.

The last time Flora made it to the Elite Eight, the championship was played in Champaign and Leib was an assistant as the Wolves were coached by the legendary Tom Welch.

“He was such a mentor of mine that it makes it even more special to know that we are finally going back,” Leib said.

The Wolves never trailed in the game, but Tuscola (23-9) had their lead cut down to two with 2:47 left. But, a defensive rebound went in between two Warrior players and Flora forward senior Tyler McGrew layed it in.

A lazy pass at halfcourt by Tuscola senior guard Anthony Gunnell turned into a fast break the other way, leading to a pair of free throws by Lucas Stanford making the score 62-57.

“I think we knocked the ball over to McGrew, and then the we just lost our composure down the stretch,” Tuscola head coach Bryan Smith said.

Gunnell led the all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 14 from the field.

Flora had four players in double figures but were led by senior guard Blaine Headlee who finished with 18. Stanford scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.

After a second-place finish in the Apollo conference, an upset win of state-ranked Lovington in Sectionals and being on the sixth team in school history to make it this way, Smith was disappointed the ride had to end.

“I take nothing away from every kid in that locker room,” Smith said. “I think people overlooked us but they set their place in Tuscola history.”

Flora and their coach, Lieb, will concentrate on putting out a better performance than its previous trip where the Wolves lost to Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) 81-48.

“Everyone asks me hey, how’d you do the last time?” Lieb said. “Well, we got wacked by 40.

“Our job now is to make people forget that,” he said.