Trailing by 14 points with about three minutes left in the third quarter of Friday’s IHSA Class 2A Seneca Sectional champioship against Yorkville Christian, it looked as if the Bishop McNamara would have its season come to an end in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

Instead, the Irish mounted a wild comeback to save their season, going on a 21-7 run over the final 11 minutes of regulation to force overtime.

The Irish (29-5) opened that final four-minute period on an 11-0 run, eventually beating the Mustangs (23-11) by a final of 69-56.

Senior Karter Krutsinger, who finished with a game-high 23 points, said the Irish were not going to let their own comeback slip away after losing an early 16-point lead in last season’s sectional championship.

“The seniors last year are the reason we’re here today,” he said. “At the end of the game last year, they told us it’s our turn to go to state. It’s our turn to turn it up and do the things that they didn’t get to do. We took it in, we took it to heart. We believe in ourselves and we think we’re the best team in the state.

“We’re coming after a title.”

After the Irish went up 13-5 early, the Mustangs chipped away at that lead, tying things up 13-13 before Krustinger scored in the final seconds of the first to put the Irish back on top.

At the end of the second, Krutsinger hit another go-ahead shot in the final seconds, only to see Yorkville Christian’s Jordan Purvis nail a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Mustangs up 28-26 at the break.

That momentum carried into the third quarter, even with All-State senior point guard Jayden Riley sitting the entire period after crucially getting four first-half fouls.

Even in his absence, the Mustangs made four 3s in opening minutes to build an eventual 46-32 lead.

That lead shrunk to 46-40 by the end of the third. Then with 3:50 to go in regulation, McNamara freshman Jayson Benton tied things at 49-49 with a corner 3-pointer, his first points of the game.

“I’ve always been a shooter,” he said. “I’m just sticking to my role and knocking down shots when I’m open.”

The Irish went up 53-49 after that before Yorkville Christian came back to force overtime.

Brimming with new life, the Irish put their foot down early in overtime to pull away. They got five points from Callaghan O’Connor, four from Krutsinger and two from Benton in an 11-0 run to open OT that sealed their sectional title.

O’Connor finished with 17 points, 15 of which came after halftime. Coen Demack did most of his scoring early to finish with 15 while Benton added seven, all in the fourth quarter and OT.

In what is the 14th and final season as head coach for Bishop McNamara alum Adrian Provost, O’Connor said it felt great to help his coach win his second sectional title at his alma mater.

“We deserve it, and he does too,” he said. “He’s had a long tenure here at Mac. It’s basically his entire life, so we owe it to him and we owe it to ourselves too. Just play hard, get the next one, win each play and go from there.”

For Provost, getting one more game guaranteed with his final group of players is something that means a lot.

“I just want to be with our kids another day,” he said. “From the start of postseason, our entire goal is to get better every day. To get better in February, in March and earn one more day. Just keep earning one more day.”

That day will be Monday in the IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Supersectional against Tolono Unity.

For Yorkville Christian, the loss brought a heartbreaking end to the program’s winningest season since a state-title winning 2021-22 campaign.

Purvis finished with a 15 points, all coming on 3s, while Jayden Alford added 14. Tray Alford had 11 while Riley finished with four points with his foul trouble.

Despite the tough end to the year, Mustang head coach Aaron Sovern said his team should be proud.

“I think a lot of the seniors, the legacy they’ve helped build here, building upon the tradition and culture a lot of guys before them have built, and that brotherhood” he said. “The gym will be open tomorrow morning, and I’ll have probably eight guys in there working on their game. That’s just the kind of culture we have.”