Before fans had a chance to grab a halftime hot dog Wednesday night, the Huron High School boys basketball had a 30-point lead and 11 different River Rats had already found their way into the scorebook.

Game over. Thanks for coming. See y'all Friday night.

The tournament host River Rats cruised to a 69-36 win over South Lyon in a Class A district semifinal, earning a spot in Friday's 7 p.m. championship game against Dexter.

On the surface, it seemed like a nice breather for a Huron team that eliminated 18-3 Brighton on Monday and faces a Southeastern Conference rival on Friday.

More coverage: This Story & Photo Gallery on MLive.com | Boxscore | District Bracket

"I don't think coaches ever get a break, because these are the games that scare you," Huron coach Waleed Samaha said. "You don't want any bad habits creeping in. You want your kids to play hard and play smart. I thought we did that tonight."

South Lyon (6-15) made just three baskets in the first half and trailed 44-15 at halftime.

Though much of the second half was played with a mercy-rule enforced running clock, the game did end on a high note for South Lyon.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Samaha approached Lions coach Doug Host and offered him the opportunity to allow senior point guard Jordan Short to end his high school career with a basket.

Short, who underwent a season-ending knee surgery in February, was dressed but not expected to play.

The team's leading scorer before the injury, Short entered the game with 27 seconds remaining, received an inbounds pass at midcourt and slowly dribbled toward the basket through applauding South Lyon and Huron players.

His uncontested layup accounted for the final points of the game.

Samaha said the most important aspect of the game for his team was that they came out with intensity. His starters quickly built a 16-3 lead in the game's first five minutes and rarely saw the floor again.

"It's one-and-done now. Our kids watch the NCAA tournament and see upsets all the time," Samaha said of the fast start. "We're always warning against that letdown. It happened to us a couple times this year, and those were valuable lessons."

Jalen Bouma and Jeff Hugan led Huron with 10 points apiece.

Mike Fenner hit three 3-point baskets in the second half to lead South Lyon with 13 points.