The final score in a spirited Catholic League basketball tussle was Bonner-Prendergast 40, O'Hara 39.
Czibik, a lefty, helped to make the victory possible by posting nine rebounds and five assists.
"My dad would have enjoyed this as much as I did," he said. "He was probably my biggest fan. He made it to almost every game - all the ones that he could, anyway - and was very supportive.
"He always had nice things to say. No matter how I played, even if it meant lying right in my face, he'd always say, 'You played great!' He always wanted me to feel better. Though he's no longer here physically, he's always in my heart."
Three paragraphs ago, perhaps you noticed no point total was listed for Czibik (pronounced sib-ick). He only scored two while attempting just four shots from the floor.
Many times in this one, oddly enough, he might as well have been the point guard.
All season, coach Tom Meakim liked to run a play, admittedly stolen from Butler University, that featured a backdoor cut along the baseline for Christian Summers, an athletic small forward. If that didn't work, senior forward Pat Vanderslice would flash into the paint, or onto the block, and take an entry pass from Czibik. (Sometimes their roles were reversed.)
To say the strategy worked like a charm Sunday is to understate the case.
"When you're bigger than your opponent, that's what you do: Pound it inside," Czibik said. "That's the kind of play that isn't always going to give you success, but . . . You have to go with it. We did get a lot of easy points. Used it to our advantage."
When Czibik was asked whether five assists represented a season high, he thought for a moment and noted, "I had four vs. West Catholic."
In that game, the Friars collected their only other CL win (against 11 losses).
"This win absolutely makes up for everything that happened this season," Czibik said.
As the day began, O'Hara had a chance to earn a spot in preplayoffs to determine the CL's 10th-seeded team. The loss knocked the Lions out of contention, then visiting Lansdale Catholic claimed a nighttime win over Conwell-Egan. Those two will meet again Monday, 7 o'clock, at La Salle High to decide 10th place.
B-P's student section was much bigger and louder than O'Hara's, and Czibik will never forget that element.
"We absolutely expected that," he said. "Our kids always turn out for the home games and they show up big-time when we play O'Hara, home or away. They took over the gym. They always come up with the comical aspect, which is cool, but it's just the noise and support that we feed off."
Summers, also a star wideout, tallied 14 points. Vanderslice, headed for Temple to pitch, collected 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Summers' backdoor bucket made it 40-37 with 1:43 remaining. Mike Louden hit a straight-on jumper to draw the Lions within 40-39 at 51.3. After a pair of turnovers in the late going, B-P tried a jump ball version of an inbound pass that was deflected, thus causing a scramble toward O'Hara's bench. On a slide, the Friars' Danny Ings knocked the ball out of bounds right there.
Chris Duffin inbounded with 2.2 seconds remaining. As Sean Havink came curling around the arc, left to middle, preparing to accept the pass, he lost his footing and that was it.
B-P's fans tried to rush the floor, but were thwarted. They then scurried out into the parking lot to celebrate.
Havink finished with 13 points, one fewer than fellow senior guard Mike Louden (14). Havink claimed six rebounds. Drew Louden, Mike's freshman brother, hit two treys for six points.
Watching Czibik's final game for B-P were his mother, Diane, and sister, Kelsey. The family is based in Brookhaven, though Dad was from Scranton and played high school football there.
Nick is hearing from Gwynedd-Mercy and The College of New Jersey. He's unsure of a major.
"He's my hardest worker," Meakim said.
And he did play great.
