Close, but not enough for the 7th grade boys

The 7th grade boys were looking for their first ticket to a championship by pulling off an upset against the No. 1 seeded and undefeated team.

With a little under four minutes left in the game, they nursed a 24-21 lead and were on the brink of their biggest win in team history.

But their mistakes that dug them an early 10-2 hole also led to their demise at the end.

And when it was all said and done, the 7th grade, for the third straight year, were eliminated from the playoffs in the semi-finals. The final was 35-28.

It was a hard fought game by the 7th graders, and a heck of an effort, but the difference between winning and losing in their division always comes down to a handful of plays in the game.

In quarters two and three, the 7th grade had the upper hand, but it was the beginning and the end that were missing.

To start the game, they missed so many lay-ups inside, causing them to climb uphill the entire game.

Daniel didn't help matters as he continued to lob inbounds passes that led to several turnovers throughout the game. His teammates also didn't help Daniel out much as they had trouble getting open whenever he had to inbound the ball.

Offensively, Justin had a rough first half and had trouble hitting shots that he is normally pretty consistent with.

Brandon T. provided a spark off the bench, rattling in a jumper and banking in a 3 pointer in the second quarter. Those were his only five points on the night.

At halftime, the 7th grade trailed 14-10.

As their head coach James always preaches, defense leads to offense and that's what happened in the third. They were able to get stops on the defensive end which lead to some fast breaks.

They eventually took the lead on a pair of Justin free throws early in the fourth. He had 12 points in the game.

It was a see-saw battle the rest of the way with the teams trading baskets until the other team eventually pulled away in the final minute of the game.

Down 31-28, Brandon T. had a good look from the corner but his game tying three bounced off the rim.

After the other team extended their lead with a free throw, Brendan Quock had a chance to bring the 7th grade within two when he was fouled. Brendan missed the first shot of his one-and-one and a golden opportunity slipped away.

Justin had the same chance Brendan did on the last position, but he too was unable to hit the first of two possible free throws.

The other team had the ball at midcourt with about 30 seconds left to go in the game when they found one of their post players wide open in the paint. The post players for the 7th grade were caught out of position and the player on the other team just turned and rimmed in a shot over Brandon T. who committed a foul on the play, to send the other team to the line for an and-one.

Following the made free throw, the lead was seven and that's how the game came to an end.

Yet again, the 7th graders found themselves in an all too familiar position, losing in the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

It was an inspiring effort for a team that at times this season lacked life. Their effort definitely wasn't in question tonight as all the boys really played their hearts out.

But games aren't won on just pure effort, they needed some better execution.

All year, their turnovers were instrumental in the games they had loss, and tonight was no different. They were able to break the press pretty easily but it goes back to the inbounds plays, which were abysmal.

Their transition defense was also very poor. Every time they missed a shot, they were slow getting back and out of position. The other team had so many extra opportunities to score on offensive rebounds, and those extra points loom big in such a close game.

Size was also a key factor as the other team had players twice the size of Aaron and James. The disparity on the glass eventually was too much to overcome.

At (5-3), they completed their most successful regular season in their five year history as a team. The bad news is because of their record, they are likely to move up a division, or at the least, stay in the same division.

Since the 3rd grade, they have not had the liberty of playing in a low division and have always played against strong opponents.

This year, they were able to pick up an extra win in the regular season, which was a big deal for a team that had finished three years in a row at (4-4).

But now they are going to have to take that extra step and move into the next level if they want to make their final year at St. Mary's one for the ages.