(February 20, 2005) — WEBSTER — After Wednesday's first-round win, a McQuaid player said the Knights had "confidence" that they could "go through this tournament and win it all."

Bulletin-board material?

It sure was for the Webster Thomas Titans, who thought that as top seeds in the Class AA bracket, they might be overlooked. "It really motivated us to work hard in practice all week and really come out here and play well," Titans forward Mark Schuber said.

There's no doubting Thomas now. The Titans held off a stiff challenge from No. 8 McQuaid, winning 66-60 on Saturday night and bouncing the Knights from the basketball postseason for the second straight year. They did it in last year's Section V semifinals. Saturday's game was a quarterfinal.

Thomas was led once again by senior point guard Josh Zenkel, who had 30 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Schuber added 10 points and six rebounds and drilled a clutch 3-pointer with 1:21 left to play to extend the lead to 61-57.

But then Schuber was left open in transition and canned his only "3." It was a big one. Coach Bill O'Rourke Jr. could have called a timeout on that fast break but didn't. "I was standing up when Mark was coming by and I was like, 'Well, let's take a look,'" he said. "I trust my kids. If he misses that shot, I'll take the heat."

Faced with a similar situation moments earlier with McQuaid down 58-56, Knights coach Joe Marchese did call time out. It happened at the 1:40 mark and stopped a break that looked as if it might lead to Odenbach racing in one-on-one for a layup.

"We just lost our composure at the end. That's all I have to say," Marchese said afterward.

"That's just how we've played all year, fast-breaking and look to take that open shot," Schuber said.