Over the weekend, the Flyers ventured to Springfield, Massachusetts for the Hoophall Classic, one of the top high-school basketball events of the year. Chaminade was victorious in its first game of the weekend, but ultimately fell short in game two after nearly completing a miraculous comeback. 

The Flyers opened their Hoophall schedule with a Saturday evening bout against Bishop Hendricken High School from Rhode Island. Chaminade entered at 8-4, having just snapped their six-game winning streak in a blowout loss to league foe St. Dominic's on Tuesday.

Bishop Hendricken, among the 10 best teams in Rhode Island according to MaxPreps, sported a 6-3 record as they came into the matchup. They too had a lengthy winning streak broken earlier in the week.

The Flyers had to work around an injury to one of their top players, as Michael Wede suffered a lower-body injury earlier in the season and was not able to play over the weekend. As a result, Diego Dersch earned his first varsity start as a sophomore.

The Hawks built an early lead thanks to four three-pointers - two from Michael D'Ambra. The offensive struggles from the previous loss continued for Chaminade, as they missed a bunch of layups in the early going. After the first quarter, the Hawks had doubled up the Flyers, 16-8. 

The scoring slowed in the second frame, as both teams went dry from the field. While the offenses floundered, the defenses stepped up. The Hawks half-court press forced the Flyers into a multitude of turnovers. However, Chaminade's James Prendergast played relentless defense to keep Hendricken from building an insurmountable advantage.

Prendergast believes his shutdown D was the direct result of countless hours working in the AAC: "You know, it's important to see guys like Kyle Dillon and Ricky Gunther going through everything every day in practice - just trying to guard them, and seeing what I can do with the defenders in the game."

Each side found something on offense in the final two minutes of the half. Jakob Reyes poured in six points for Hendricken, increasing their lead to eight. However, the Flyers responded, with Gunther and Prendergast leading the charge. Gunther netted 10 in the second quarter and 14 in the half, while Prendergast came up with a clutch trey and electrifying breakaway layup to cut into the deficit. At the end of the second quarter, the Hawks lead was a mere three, 29-26.

The third quarter was full of runs — the Hawks had a pair of 5-0 spurts, while the Flyers had their own 6-0 burst. The Hawks' hot shooting from downtown continued, as D'Ambra, Will Cary, and James Caldarella kept them in front. 

Caldarella led in the scoring department for the Hawks with 12. Cary and Dylan Lynch also hit double digits with 10 apiece.

Despite failing to gain the lead, the Flyers kept the deficit small. Gunther continued to score, while Dillon converted a pair of and-ones. Gregory Wyckoff also added a bucket after the Flyers forward hungrily stole the ball after a missed free throw and laid it in. The game was more than in reach for the Flyers as the penultimate quarter finished with the scoreboard reading 45-41. 

It was a dream start to the final period for the Flyers, as they went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead. Prendergast banked in a triple from the top of the key to give Chaminade its first lead of the game, and Gunther added another layup to aggrandize the lead to five.

As the game neared its end, the Flyers lead was three. The Hawks had numerous chances to tie, but each three they took seemed to go halfway down before rolling out. The Flyers also withstood some late challenges from the free-throw line to take home the victory, 55-52.

A key storyline was the Hawks' inability to score in crunch time; they posted seven points in the fourth quarter compared to Chaminade's 14. 

"This is one of the toughest teams we have had in years," said Gunther, who had a game-high 22. "Our overall grit allows us to never give up on a play and, by extension, we never give up on a game."

As a result of Saturday's victory, the Flyers drew a matchup with the New London Whalers the following afternoon. The Whalers were 8-3 on the season, having defeated Pope Francis Prep on day one of the tournament. 

The Whalers blitzed the Flyers early and got off to a very fast 7-0 lead, punctuated by an old-fashioned three-point play by Jayvon Robinson. The Flyers kept the deficit minimal until the end of the quarter, when a trifecta of threes - two from Amir Hall - pushed the Whalers lead to 13.

New London continued to push the pace in the second quarter and built its lead to 18 in the process. The Whalers' defense was on point, forcing the Flyers into tough shots and creating turnovers. Chaminade also struggled from beyond the arc, while the Whalers thrived.

This was evident in the 30-13 halftime score - one which represented the Flyers' lowest-scoring half of the season. 

Things remained much the same in the third quarter. However, the Flyers stepped up the intensity during the closing minutes of the period and cut into the lead a bit. Two threes from Joseph Leyden and one from Prendergast got Chaminade within shouting distance, but the Whalers remained in front, 44-29. 

The Flyers' comeback continued into the final frame, as Gunther repeatedly got to the free throw line and cashed in. Halfway through, Dillon splashed in a three to get the Crimson and Gold to within single digits for the first time since the initial quarter.

Unfortunately for Chaminade, the deficit proved too much, as the Whalers did just enough in the fourth quarter to hold on and secure the victory, 57-46. The Flyers missed some crucial open looks in the second half, which was costly, as a near-perfect performance was required.

Still, Chaminade head coach Dan Feeney was proud of his team's fight:

"I think they competed to the end," he reflected. "Definitely the guys in and the guys on the bench were good with energy at the end, and the guys on the court did a great job just playing hard right to the end."

Dillon topped the scoring column on Sunday afternoon with 18; he had 12 of those points in the second half. On the other side, it was Robinson who led the way for New London with 13. Three other Whalers also finished in double digits to steady the offensive attack. 

Up next for the 9-5 Flyers is a league matchup tonight in West Islip against the St. John the Baptist Cougars; tip is set for 7:30 p.m.