If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Unfortunately for the Helias Crusaders, the Father Tolton Trailblazers tried again, and succeed they did.
Tolton, which was unable to get a shot off in a short-time situation at the end of the first half, had the ball again with the score tied near the end of the fourth quarter. This time, the Trailblazers got the ball where it needed to go - the nation's third-ranked junior, Michael Porter Jr. - and the results were much different.
Porter did what great players do, made a great play, as he drilled a 3-pointer over the top of two Helias defenders with just 2.5 seconds left in Wednesday's championship game of the Great 8 Classic.
"I knew it was going in from the moment it left my hand," Porter said.
When Porter's brother, Jontay, deflected the ensuing inbounds pass to keep Helias from being able to get off a shot before time expired, the Trailblazers had captured a thrilling 54-51 win in front of an overflow crowd at Fleming Fieldhouse.
Michael Porter said the game-winner shot to the top of the list of the most important buckets in his young career.
"That's one of the biggest, for sure," he said with a smile.
Helias coach Josh Buffington said this was a scenario where you just give credit where credit is due.
"We couldn't have defended it any better - a phenomenal player made a great play at the end," he said.
The gym was filled long before the start for the contest, with several people waiting outside almost the entire game to slowly gain admittance when others left. Those that made it in got to see a fantastic show.
"It was a great high-school basketball game," Buffington said. "I'm very proud of our team, I thought we outplayed them in a lot of phases of the game tonight and deserved to win. We left it all out there - there was nothing else our kids could have done."
Helias got off to a great start, jumping ahead 16-7 after the game's first six minutes, with Landon Harrison scoring nine of the 16.
"We came out with a lot of fire," Buffington said. "We were here to play, we were here to win."
Tolton put together a 7-0 run, starting with a layup and a dunk by Michael Porter, before Helias emerged from the first quarter with an 18-14 lead.
The lead changed hands four times in the second quarter and was tied twice before Helias got a Trevor Koelling layup to go into halftime up 31-29.
Tolton took a timeout with the ball with 14 seconds left before halftime, but didn't get off a shot until well after the buzzer. Michael Porter, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, said his team did a better job getting off a buzzer-beater the second time around.
"We've just grown as a team and we just adjusted to what they threw at us," he said of the game-winner.
The game was tied three more times in the third quarter, which featured a questionable intentional foul call on Helias when Michael Porter was stopped on a breakaway. He made the ensuing two free throws and had three cracks at the basket on the ensuing possession before Helias was able to force a turnover.
In perhaps a bit of foreshadowing, the Trailblazers got a buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter. Isaiah Wilson made his only basket of the game, a jumper in the paint, with :01 left to give Tolton a 45-40 lead heading to the final quarter.
"It was definitely a playoff atmosphere, if not greater than some playoff games," Buffington said.
Helias mounted a comeback in the final period and took the lead at 48-47 on a pair of free throws by Harrison with 3:48 left.
After both teams made 1-of-2 free throws and then traded a pair of empty possessions apiece, Tolton took the lead for good on a three-point play by Michael Porter that started with a twisting layup through traffic.
Helias tied it one last time at 51 with 1:02 left on a pair of free throws by Harrison, leaving more than enough time for Michael Porter to work his magic.
"In this tournament, when you get to the third day, no matter what game you're in, you're going into a war," Buffington said. "We knew about that and prepped for that."
Michael Porter ended up with game highs in both points (20) and rebounds (13). Jontay Porter, a sophomore who has already committed to the University of Washington, was limited to four points, six rebounds and five blocks.
"We couldn't let Jontay get 20 or 25 points or we would be in big trouble," Buffington said. "You can depend on Michael getting up around there, if not more, every game. So our goal was to try to hold Michael a little below his average and really focus hard on Jontay."
Kenan Brooks added 13 points for the Trailblazers.
Harrison ended up with 20 points to lead Helias and narrowly missed a perfect shooting night, making 3-of-4 on 2-point attempts, 2-of-2 on 3s and 8-of-8 on free throws. Adam Bax racked up a double-double for Helias, posting 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Crusaders will have a short break before returning to action, as they host Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.