As the clock wound down with his team trailing by two, Cardinal O'Hara's Sean Havink drove the lane in search of the tying bucket.
Unable to do so, he dished it to the wing and found Pat Hagenbach for a three-pointer at the buzzer, allowing the host Lions to turn back Conwell-Egan, 45-44, on Wednesday in the first round of the Catholic League boys' basketball playoffs.
It was Havink's fourth assist and just Hagenbach's fifth point. Ed Allen led the Lions with nine rebounds and 12 points.
Jamal Nwaniemeka hit his 1,000th point in the third quarter for Conwell-Egan and had a game-high 20 points. This marked the last game for the Eagles, as the school is slated to close at the end of the school year.
Also in the first round, Stephen Smith's precise touch from the outside helped La Salle race out to a large lead before dropping visiting Father Judge, 69-51.
Smith, a 6-foot-7 junior, knocked down six three-pointers for a game-high 20 points. The Explorers hit nine of their 12 first-half attempts from three-point range and led 42-24 at the break.
Pa. Independent Schools. Germantown Academy used a trap defense to erase a 16-point deficit and top host Academy of the New Church in overtime, 70-60, in the tournament quarterfinal.
The Patriots' defense forced six late turnovers and Nick Lindner hit a layup with 10 seconds left in regulation to tie the game. Greg Dotson grabbed 11 rebounds and Lindner finished with six assists.
In the other quarterfinal matchups, Amile Jefferson scored seven of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to lift Friends' Central past Hill School, 67-64.
Senior guard Steve Perpiglia dished out 10 assists and scored 13 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as host Malvern Prep downed Perkiomen School, 61-52. Tom Pitt grabbed nine rebounds and Brendan Kilpatrick dropped a team-high 20 points.
Maria Kilcullen sank a pair of free throws in the final minute of the fourth quarter to edge host Episcopal Academy past Notre Dame, 48-45, in the quarterfinal of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Tournament.
Jen Adelizzi helped EA charge back in the fourth quarter with a go-ahead three with 2 minutes left. Junior center Megan Quinn chipped in with 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds.
Also in the quarterfinals, Sox Alexander scored seven of her 13 points in the second quarter as host Shipley built a large lead before holding off Springside, 50-49. Alexander added four assists and Martine Fortune grabbed 12 rebounds.
Junior Kiernan McCloskey grabbed 11 rebounds to go-along with her 12 points as Germantown Academy topped visiting Penn Charter, 38-17.
Hill School knocked down seven three-pointers en route to thumping visiting Friends' Central, 49-34. Claire Maree O'Bryan made three.
Archbishop Prendergast and Archbishop Ryan advanced to Saturday's Catholic League final.
Prendie downed Little Flower, 1885-1866, behind Megan Huhn's 258 game and 623 series. The Ragdolls knocked off St. Hubert, 2076-1927, thanks to Tori Cruz's 246 game and 619 series. Ryan last won a league crown in 2007 and fell to the Pandas in last season's final.
