Tough, tough ending for Irish

Then the shot, in this case taken by Garrett Brown, misses its mark, and the final horn sounds.

And that’s it.

An undefeated regular season, only four losses, a PIAA Class AA semifinal game and a long bus ride back to York, courtesy of Prep Charter.

It was stunning.

Brown and Sean Johnston, the Fighting Irish’s two senior starters, both collapsed onto the hardwood when the game clock, and their careers, expired.

Jacob Iati, the sophomore who tried to will Catholic back to the state title game, pulled his jersey over his face and just stood there.

As the teams shook hands, Catholic coach Jim Senft stared straight ahead, past everything, his face almost blank. Then, as a final cruelty, the Irish had to walk through the same hallway as the Prep Charter players on their way to the locker room as the Huskies screamed “One more game y’all, one more game.�

Not for Johnston.

His surge in the second half of the season is one of the reasons Catholic played here Wednesday, but he could not lift his teammates past the Huskies.

He finished with 16 points, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in the process, but in the minutes after the game, the forward focused only on the shots that didn’t fall, such as the missed fourth-quarter layup and the second free-throw of a double bonus with 1:22 to play.

That’s the deciding margin right there. No one will blame the loss on Johnston, nor should they — those are the type of thoughts that stick with a player long after the game ends.

“I’m struggling,� Johnston said. “We should have won that game. It’s so disappointing to play that well for so long and just throw it. We missed some big shots. I did. Garrett did. We should have won.�

They certainly had their chance, but when it came right down to it, Catholic just didn’t execute.

That’s what made the end even harder. Had the Irish been blown out, it would have been different. The better team clearly would have won, and there would have been no lingering questions in the minds of the Catholic players.

But they dominated early, and that alone will leave them wondering why they couldn’t do it late.

The way a year ends has a habit of coloring all that came before it. Johnston will realize soon enough how great Catholic’s season was and the role he played in making great memories for so many others.

But he couldn’t think about that standing in a hallway outside Catholic’s locker room, his hair still wet, voice cracking with emotion.

His 1,000 points?

“It’s a nice achievement, but I just wanted to win tonight,� Johnston said.

The year, including a perfect regular season?

“We did a hell of a job all year, but we didn’t win any titles,� Johnston said. “We didn’t get coach a title. It’s disappointing.�

The year Iati was born, his parents and Johnston’s parents went on vacation together for the first time. The boys grew up together, first learned to play ball together and pushed one another here.

Talking to Iati after the game, it was harder to tell what bothered him more, that his season was over, or that he couldn’t have given Johnston a gold medal.

“I love Sean to death,� Iati said. “I’d do anything to have another year with him. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t trade so Sean could have another shot at a state title.�

See that, another shot. Not the title itself, just the chance to play for one.

That’s really all any of them want, just one more go-round, one more practice. One more chance to be a team.

But only one team gets a special ending. Everyone else just walks off the floor.

Reach Jeff Frantz at jfrantz@ydr.com.