I

n the grand scheme of things, the rim-rattling finish behind a last-minute 63-60 loss to rival St. Dominic doesn't mean squat. The St. Anthony's boys basketball team closed out the regular season in encouraging, albeit losing fashion.

But win or lose, the Friars head into the Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA playoffs locked into the No. 3 seed, assured of a home playoff game Thursday, and with the knowledge they can play with any team in the league.

With the score tied at 60 Saturday night in the St. Anthony's gym, St. Dominic got the ball with 13 seconds left in regulation — more than enough time to score a decisive blow.

Dan Kenny drove hard to the hoop. He fired up a driving layup. But Paul Bilbo's hauled in the rebound of the missed shot and immediately went back up from the left side of the baseline. His point-blank putback found its mark and Bilbo was fouled in the process.

So with four seconds left, St. Dominic suddenly found itself in control. Bilbo sank the free throw for a 63-60 edge.

If St. Anthony's harbored any hope, it rested on a quick three-pointer to force overtime. Senior guard Kevin Kerr pushed the ball three quarters of the court before the ball was swatted away from him and out of bounds. Then the buzzer sounded.

Another oh-so-close game rolled away from the Friars in the final seconds. The Friars (13-10 overall, 7-5 league) have lost to St. Mary's by one, Chaminade by two and now the Bayhawks by three.

St. Anthony's also lost to St. Dominic, 67-54, on Jan. 25. So the Friars have seemingly come a long way. But St. Anthony's coach Mike Ryan said this was hardly a moral victory — just another case of his team not finishing what it started.

The view from the stands said something else. The Bayhawks (15-8 overall, 10-2 league) opened a 14-6 lead. Yale-bound sharpshooter Brian Katz stroked five three-pointers — all in the first half — and finished with 25 points.

He single-handedly swamped the Friars early. But St. Anthony's answered with a pair of threes by Kerr (the second a three-point play with 7:46 left in the half to tie it at 14).

Doms threatened to pull away again early in the third, building a 37-29 lead. Three Friars players — Jon Francois, Shahab Syed and Conor Teehan — were saddled with three fouls each. And Teehan (7 points) would eventually foul out with 5:50 left.

Even still, the Friars knuckled down defensively and fed Syed inside. He scored three times in the final minutes of the third quarter, the last a putback of a missed free throw with 1:12 left in the quarter to put the Friars in front, 43-42.

St. Anthony's extended its lead to 48-45 with 5:40 left on a free throw by Olivier Laurent. In fact, Laurent scored 7 of his 18 points down the stretch.

Yet this one was far from over. These teams tied it up five times in the final 4:25. Syed did it one final time with 13 seconds remaining. He corralled a missed three-point attempt and hammered it home. Syed was fouled on the play and sank the ensuing free throw to knot things at 60.

Impressive. But not enough.

Update: The Friars will host St. John the Baptist in a quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The winner will likely draw St. Dominic in the semifinals.