SPRINGFIELD, MO -- The Irish basketball team opened up the 37th Bass Pro Tournament of Champions against Paul VI (Virginia) on Thursday night. Not many fans outside of SCS gave the Irish a shot over the national powerhouse from Virginia that came into the contest ranked #22 in the country (MaxPreps). 

The Irish opened the game with some quick offense led by Senior Zach Howell. Howell opened the game with 10 of the team's 14 first quarter points however Paul VI would answer with a 16-4 run to close the first half with a 30-23 lead.

The Irish hung tight with Paul VI throughout the third and opened the fourth with only a 9-point deficit. Zach Howell would once again get hot scoring 9 points in the first four minutes of the quarter. Liam O'Reilly made two free throws with 4:11 remaining and the Irish were within one point of the lead, 52-51.

The Panthers would bear down in the reamining minutes, outscoring the Irish 8-4 while converting 100% of their free throws. The Irish fell to Paul VI 60-55.

Zach Howell lead all scorers with 30, half of which were beyond the arc. Liam O'Reilly finished the game just 2 rebounds and 2 assists shy of a triple double. Major Riley grabbed 8 boards and shot 75% from the line. 

In the post-game interview, Paul VI's coach Farello was complimentary of the Irish.

"Gritty," Farrello said of Catholic. "I love how they played. They play the game the right way. They play together. They had a purpose for how they wanted to execute offensively. We weren't able to break away from them and extend our lead when we had chances. I was impressed how composed they stayed. Major respect for them."

Catholic will now play in the consolation semifinal where they will once again face Nixa; a rematch of arguably the best game at the Blue and Gold Tournament. The game will take place at JQH at 6pm on Friday.