Late in the third quarter, the Fighting Irish seemed to have their Section V title game well in hand.
And then something strange happened.
The baskets stopped dropping, and turnovers and penalties all seemed to take a Fillmore tilt.
With seconds left in the third, Notre Dame turned over the ball and Fillmore struck for a quick three points, cutting the Irish lead from nine to six.
"The little things ad up," said head coach Mike Rapone. "They did the little things better in about the last 12 minutes of the game."
The game changer, Rapone said, was a six-minute stretch in which the Irish didn't drop a single shot.
"I don’t think we scored from 33-24 until they actually took the lead," Rapone said. "We had a long scoring drought. I thought we were getting decent shots, they just weren’t falling. That happens."
To start the fourth quarter, Fillmore hit two three-point goals, tying the game, and another three-pointer gave Fillmore a lead that Notre Dame would never get back.
The fourth quarter ended in a tie, putting the game into overtime, but Fillmore struck quickly and held the lead through the final four minutes.
"I feel bad for the kids because they’ve been so close in football and now basketball," Rapone said.
Fillmore was sparked in the 4th quarter by Chase Rangel, who came off the bench and scored 14 points, including 4 three-point goals. He added another key three-point goal in the 4th quarter.
Vinny Zambito led Notre Dame with 13 points, Gianni Zambito, 11, Matt Thompson, 9, and Tom Rapone, 6.
More pictures after the jump:
