Chaminade Downs St. Anthony's Basketball 65-55

 ruined the  slumber party.

 packed the gym to see the St. Anthony’s boys basketball team earn its first Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA win of the season on a frigid Friday night in South Huntington. The Friars even took a nine-point halftime lead.

But Chaminade used a 17-4 third-quarter run and shot a near-perfect 91-percent from the foul line in the second half to earn a 65-55 win over the Friars. For the capacity crowd of 1,400, beating the rival Flyers was just daydreaming.  

"That run really hurt us," said St. Anthony's senior Marko Paraica, who had 17 points. "It put them in the driver's seat."

James McCaffrey finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Chaminade (9-2, 3-0) while 6-foot, 7-inch Richard Zoller III added 10 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks.  

Paraica helped St. Anthony's make a late charge. His inside bucket with 2:18 left cut the deficit to 55-51. He got the ball back and drove to the hoop less than a minute later. But he missed and then was whistled for a foul going after the rebound. It proved to be the seventh team foul and his fifth personal.

So Paraica not only fouled out, Chaminade's Zoller made both ends of a one-and-one to extend the lead to 57-51 with 1:22 remaining.

It didn't help that St. Anthony's could not convert its own foul shots down the stretch. There will be no sleeping in for  on Saturday. Coach Jim Fenton promised plenty of free-throw shooting drills at practice.

Hero: Flyers senior guard Kevin Sheehy poured in game-best 23 points. He hit four three-pointers and converted 9 of 10 free throws. That's clutch.

Turning Point: Chaminade unleashed a 17-4 run to open the second half and turn a 33-24 Friars lead into a 41-37 Flyers edge with 1:50 to go in the third. Sheehy converted 2 of 3 free throws after being fouled attempting a three. It put the Flyers in front, 38-37. Then McCaffrey sank a three-pointer from the right corner. St. Anthony’s never regained the lead.

Quotable: “It's an extremely hostile crowd with Pajama Night," Chaminade coach Jim Quinn said, who improved to 402-195 in 24 seasons. "The place is packed. The only guys rooting for us are on the bench. So the kids showed more heart than basketball tonight."

Bottom Line: Quinn called the crushing  earlier this week: “Reality.” That dose of reality seemed to carry over as the Flyers stumbled in the first half on the road against St. Anthony’s. But instead of folding, Chaminade emerged from the locker room with renewed focus and simply outplayed the Friars. Despite five new starters from a year ago, Chaminade appears to be ready to challenge St. Mary’s for league supremacy. But it's a long season. Right now Quinn is simply concerned with getting better each day.

Key Stat: The game was won – and lost – at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Chaminade was nearly flawless. The Flyers converted 14 of 15 free throws in the quarter and went 20-for-22 in the second half. Meanwhile St. Anthony’s went 2-for-10 down the stretch. 

Who’s Next: , Tuesday, 4 p.m.