Chaminade led Kellenberg 42-41 with 1:40 to play in the NSCHSAA quarterfinal. A great backdoor cut and layup by Jordan Leach - his first points of the game - gave Kellenberg its first lead since the first half.

On the ensuing possession, Leach caught a lob from Matt Connolly and again knocked in the deuce to increase the advantage to three. After a quick timeout, the Flyers had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime; however, a three from James Prendergast was just a touch too long, and the Firebirds locked down the rebound. A few fouls later, Leach converted a free throw to give his Firebirds a four-point edge.

A last-ditch effort from Chaminade came up empty, thus sealing the upset victory for Kellenberg, 46-42.

Prior to tipoff, Kellenberg head coach Chris Lyons emphasized the importance of defense at the cost of offense. Afterwards, he was easily coaxed into continuing the conversation:

"Before the game, I said, 'I don't care how much you score, as long as you play defense.' If we get one point more - if it's 46-45, or 32-31 - as long as we have one more point at the end, then we're in good shape," he said.

The 42 points was Chaminade's third-lowest total of the season.

"Our struggle to score a little bit and make shots - we shot 37% from the field and in the 20s from three - so the pace gets changed and the point difference is a little different," reflected Chaminade head coach Dan Feeney after the game. "Give credit to Kellenberg for that." 

The Flyers limped into Wednesday afternoon's matchup at 14-10 overall and 7-5 in league play, having lost three of four to end the regular season. As a result, the team landed the four seed in the league playoffs and, for the first time in over five years, a home playoff game at the AAC.

The Firebirds entered the matchup at 15-9 overall and 5-7 in league play, earning them the five seed. They were coming off a nail-biting 46-44 victory in an offensively-challenged game against St. John the Baptist. 

Despite the disappointing end to the season for the Flyers, there was hope and anticipation going into the game. Chaminade had swept the season series against Kellenberg, winning 69-57 on January 3 and 58-45 on the 31st. The first matchup was highlighted by a sterling 29 points from Ricky Gunther, while the latter battle was headlined by the Chaminade defense, which only allowed five points in the fourth quarter. 

The energy was palpable as the postseason matchup tipped off, with crowds of students from both schools gathered in the AAC, hoping to will their schools to victory. Chants from each section echoed throughout the arena all afternoon, creating an electric atmosphere well suited for a playoff game.

As anticipated, it was a close one early on. Gunther contributed five early points, including a deep three from close to halfcourt. Gregory Wyckoff also converted an "and one" to amp up the Flyers student section. On the other side, Brendan Gharagozlo fueled the Firebirds with an early six - thanks to three easy layups. 

Kellenberg's leading scorer, Stephen Kiernan, got going in the back half of the first quarter, scoring his first four points of the game. However, he also picked up two early fouls, forcing him to take a seat.

Gunther, too, found himself on the bench early - another victim of two early whistles.

After the opening quarter, it was the Flyers who maintained a 17-15 lead.

The scoring slowed in the second, with both teams bearing down on the defensive side. The big man trio of Wyckoff, Peter Tagios III, and Diego Dersch proved vital in the painted area for Chaminade, providing numerous blocks as they helped control the rebounding battle. Wyckoff also contributed two baskets on the offensive side to galvanize the Flyers.

Chaminade played a large chunk of the quarter without Gunther, as the senior guard picked up his third foul - this one of the offensive variety - with 3:21 to go in the period. 

Turnovers quickly became a major factor, as the two teams were careless with the basketball, thus keeping the scoring minimal. This was epitomized by a late turnover by the Firebirds, as the Crimson and Gold converted a Luke O'Connor giveaway into a transition layup by Kyle Dillon.  

Kellenberg's inability to score the basketball, like in the previous matchup, hurt them mightily in the second frame. They only put up six in the quarter, whereas the Flyers netted 10. At intermission, Chaminade led, 27-21. 

However, the second half did not start well for the Flyers, as Gunther picked up his fourth foul - a questionable one - only a minute in. He sat for the rest of the quarter.

"His being severely in foul trouble definitely changes our dynamic and our ability to score," admitted Feeney.

Kellenberg took advantage of this and quickly tied the game, as Connolly and Kiernan cashed back-to-back threes to knot the score at 29. 

Both defenses garnered the spotlight, as scoring was once again a challenge. Nearly flipping the second-quarter totals, Chaminade only totaled five in the third quarter, while it was Kellenberg who dropped 10.

The final score at the end of the third - 32-31 in favor of Chaminade - had stood frozen on the scoreboard for nearly the entire second half of the quarter. Kellenberg had a multitude of chances to take the lead, but came up short each time.

Only one player up to that point, Dillon, had broken into double figures; he had 11. 

The home team came through with two clutch threes to start the final frame, courtesy of Dillon and Michael Wede. However, the two defenses continued to stand out, and the slugfest continued. 

Connolly stepped up in the fourth for Kellenberg, hitting a clutch three before banking in a pull-up two. Jack Geoghan, quiet in the first half, also connected from beyond the arc to keep the visitors close.

On the other side, Wyckoff converted on his second "and-one" of the game to keep the Flyers ahead. However, the late heroics of Connolly and Leach finally pushed the Firebirds in front and on to the next round.

For the Flyers, Dillon topped the scoring column with 16, finishing off his strong season with another double-digit performance. Wyckoff also had one of his best games of the year, scoring nine while grabbing 14 boards. 

For Kellenberg, Connolly led the way with 10. The Firebirds demonstrated a very balanced attack, as nine players broke into the scoring column, compared to only four for Chaminade. Kellenberg now looks forward to Friday, when they will take on the top-seeded St. Dominic's Bayhawks in the semifinal round at Hofstra University.

It was a rough end to the season for the Flyers, and many players displayed varying levels of dejection as they exited the locker room. It was an especially tough way for the seniors to go out in their final high school basketball game. However, there were positives for the players to look back on, both communally and individually:

"I'm grateful for the memories we all built," reflected Dillon. "The seniors - even though we weren't able to get it done, we still had a lot of great memories."

"I will remember all the guys I played with, all the memories I had with them, and just working hard every day and working towards our goals," added an emotional Gunther. 

It was an up-and-down season for the Flyers. They started 0-2, the first loss being to nationally-ranked Long Island Lutheran. However, they rebounded by winning eight of their next nine, a run highlighted by a victory over Holy Trinity in the first-ever high school basketball game at UBS Arena.

These Flyers also won the CBA Holiday Tournament in Albany and took both games they played in the Gary Charles Hoop Classic. The team also got to participate in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, MA - one of the most prestigious high school basketball events in the country - where they split their two games.

In league play, the team swept the regular-season series against Kellenberg, St. John the Baptist, and St. Mary's, split against Holy Trinity, and was swept by both St. Dominic's and St. Anthony's.

This all culminated in the 14-10 (7-5) record and the date with Kellenberg in the quarters, where it all came to an end on a mild February afternoon. 

"I thought we struggled in the beginning of the year, just with so many new pieces and trying to figure out who was going to do what for us, then played fairly well over a stretch in the middle of the year," reflected Feeney. "Then, we dealt with some - like a lot of teams do - a little adversity during the year - some guys banged up, some guys sick; it's a long season… but guys got better during the year and gained experience." 

Now, it's on to the offseason for the Flyers. They will lose seven graduating seniors, but next year's juniors are coming off a stellar campaign, winning the JVA championship this season. Nine current juniors also hope to return to the hardwood as an experienced group of seniors, their focus no doubt on competing for the league crown once again in '25-26.