EUGENE — With the state final still to go, the chants of “MVP” for Churchill guard Emanuel Morgan may have been a bit premature, if not prophetic.

Morgan and the Lancers of Eugene, who were playing less than five miles away from their home campus, blew past Mountain View of Bend 67-55 on Friday at Matthew Knight Arena to advance to the boys basketball state final for the first time since 2001.

Churchill (23-4 overall), which has now won 13 straight games, faces Jefferson tonight at 8:30 in the Class 5A state championship game after its semifinal victory over the Cougars.

Just 5 feet 6 inches tall but lightning quick, Morgan scored 20 points, recorded four steals and spearheaded the Lancers’ all-consuming pressure defense that ultimately doomed Mountain View. The Cougars (22-4), who play Silverton today at 3:15 p.m. in the 5A third-place game, never really got into their offense, turning the ball over 26 times against the Midwestern League champions.

“That was the difference in the ballgame and we knew it coming in,” Mountain View coach Craig Reid said about Churchill’s pressure. “(They have) extreme quickness in the backcourt. We’re talking about (former NBA guard) Muggsy Bogues quickness. It’s at an elite level, and we don’t see that.”

While the Lancers were credited with only 12 steals, the way they pressured the ball frustrated the Cougars in just almost every aspect of the game. Mountain View was charged with both a 10-second backcourt violation and a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball.

The Cougars shot decently against Churchill — they hit 42.4 percent of their attempts from the field — when they actually got shots off. Mountain View, which trailed 34-24 at halftime, attempted just 12 shots in the first half, making six of them. The Cougars ended the game 14 of 33 from the field. The Lancers, who scored 33 points off turnovers, shot 48.9 percent from the field (22 of 45).

“We knew (they were fast) coming in, but you can’t simulate that in practice,” Mountain View point guard Ments Haugen said. “I thought we handled it pretty good in the first quarter. They had a little run in the second quarter and then it went downhill in the second half.”

Senior wing Mitch Modin scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Cougars, hitting 14 of 16 free throws. Grant Lannin added nine points and five rebounds, and Haugen contributed eight points in Mountain View’s third state semifinal game in six years.

Churchill, which is guided by former longtime Redmond High coach Kelly Bokn, led by just three points, 10-7, at the end of the first quarter. Bokn’s squad took control of the game in the second period, though, forcing three consecutive Cougar turnovers that led to a 10-0 Lancer run. Churchill led 34-24 at halftime and then outscored Mountain View 17-9 in the third quarter to put the game away.

“It was real similar to what they did in the quarterfinals against Sandy,” Reid said, referring to the Lancers’ 82-61 victory on Wednesday. “It’s a close game, and then all of a sudden, bam! Against a team like that, that’s so aggressive, you can’t have mental lapses. … We had a couple of lazy passes, we didn’t set some screens, and then they come at you hard.”

The second half was all Churchill, as the Cougars never were within 10 points of the Lancers. Playing in front of a loud hometown crowd, the Lancers opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run, eventually building a 51-33 lead to start the fourth period.

Morgan was one of five Churchill players to score in double figures Friday. Keidren Johnson added 14 points and seven rebounds, and David Shedrick, Malik Morgan and Andrew Smith scored 10 points apiece. The Lancers, who went 0-2 at state a year ago, go for their third state title in school history this evening.

“We felt like we had a pretty good team last year … but we went home quick and it stung,” Bokn said. “That was a motivator in the offseason to go hard and put us in a position to make a good run this year.”

While the Cougars’ title hopes were dashed, Mountain View can still finish the tournament with a winning record and match its second-best state finish in school history.

“We’ve been here enough that we’ve left with losses and left with victories,” Reid said. “(Today) is an opportunity to go home with a win, and not many teams get to do that.”