[SOLEHI] didn't shoot much better (47 percent), but did take advantage of its second-chance opportunities. [Rob Hamilton] had 10 points - - mostly on put-backs -- while [Dan Welker] led with 16, and the duo combined for 27 rebounds -- 16 by the sophomore Welker. Meanwhile, sophomore Brian McKee matched his season-high with 12 points -- including a sensational bank-shot at the halftime buzzer that put his team on top by 29-26 -- and fellow 10th-grader Jim Coyle added 13.

Solehi trailed for only two of the game's 32 minutes, but seized firm control late in the third quarter by scoring the final eight points of the stanza after Nazareth's Steve Gordon sat down with his fourth personal. The closing spurt, which featured three Welker field goals, gave the Spartans a 43-34 lead, and two free throws by Welker pushed the margin to 50-40 with 5:07 left. Gordon's 3-point bank shot from the top of the key put thoughts of the Catty comeback in [Bob Schaffer]'s head, but McKee knocked down two free throws and Hamilton rolled down the lane for a layup that boosted the margin to 54-43 with 2:51 left.