Wild finish for St. Robert’s in 8th-grade title game

“The kids were not confident because you’re down 14,” St. Robert’s head coach Nick Paras said. “But we said, could we cut the lead to 6 with three-and-a-half to go?”

St. Robert’s point guard Tommaso Leveroni hit four 3s in the final period to help his team get within 1. Then, on the game’s final possession, when Leveroni’s underhand layup didn’t fall, and center Derek Waldvogel’s put-back attempt was blocked, the ball careened into the waiting hands of center Peter Skoufis.

And boom! Buzzer-beater! Destiny!

Skoufis released the rock like a hot potato just in the nick of time, pumping in a short-range swish as time expired to give St. Robert’s a 37-36 victory as mayhem ensued at Morton Family Gymnasium.

“We all just started jumping because we were the underdog in this game,” Leveroni said. “So, I don’t think anyone thought we could win this game.”

St. Gregory’s was certainly the favorite. Not only did the Trojans win the regular-season league title, they had walloped St. Robert’s in the third week of the season. After that loss, the Bears fell the following week to St. Matthew’s of San Mateo and, middling at 2-2, were in danger of not qualifying for the playoffs — only the top four teams from the seven-team league advance — without a strong finish.

“We played [St. Gregory’s and St. Matthew’s back-to-back],” Paras said. “And then the following weekend we had to play St. Charles (of San Carlos), which was a key game for us because we both came in 2-2. … We didn’t know if we were going to be able to turn it around. We just hoped we would be able to play better.”

The Bears had something of a comeback-kids mystique to them all season though. Even in regular-season games, they overcame early deficits to earn close comeback victories. Paras said this has been a trademark of many of his teams, dating back to his 16 seasons as the Jefferson High School boys’ varsity head coach.

Even during its struggles early in the season, St. Robert’s showed flashes of comeback brilliance. Following the Week 3 loss to St. Gregory’s, the Bears fell to St. Matthew’s, but overcame a 17-point deficit to get to within 1. St. Matthew’s finished strong, though, and was up convincingly by the final buzzer.

Facing the make-or-break showdown with St. Charles, though, St. Robert’s went on a three-game win streak to close the regular season, finishing with a 5-2 record good for second place in the PPSL.

“You could see it the confidence on the kids’ faces after that (St. Charles) win,” Paras said.

In the semifinals of the PPSL postseason, the Bears had to come back after a slow first-half start against Immaculate Heart of Mary of Belmont. Paras, though, continued to work his sage advice to finish strong.

“I tried to preach to them, we know that teams are going to have runs,” Paras said. “We know we are going to have runs. You just need to persevere through the runs and keep competing.”

It was this perseverance that led to the mayhem at Morton Gym last Friday night.

Trailing 29-15 to start the fourth quarter, the Bears opened with forward Tyler Brown lofting an assist pass into the post for Skoufis to pound in a layup to close it to 29-17. St. Robert’s then turned to the full-court trap to pressure a quick turnover and Leveroni connected on his first 3 of the period to close it to 29-20.

The Trojans broke the trap off the following inbound, but Skoufis hustled back on defense to block a shot and quickly put the Bears back on offense. Ryan Farrugia then connected on a 3 with 5:30 remaining to make it 29-23. St. Gregory’s pushed back for a score. But after two missed 3 by the Bears, they got the ball back on a turnover for a Leveroni sidestep 3 to make it 31-26.

Leveroni responded to a Trojans layup by banging a 3 off the glass to close it to 33-29 with 3:52 to go. Then after three defensive stops, Skoufis scooped up a defensive board off a missed 3 and Leveroni splashed down to draw the Bears within a single shot at 33-32.

“He was huge,” Paras said.

After the Trojans missed a pair of free throws, Farrugia floated a running jumper through the lane to give St. Robert’s the lead 34-33. But St. Gregory’s fired back with a 3 to go up 36-34 with 46 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, St. Robert’s got 1 of 2 free throws from Leveroni to close to within a point. With 15 seconds remaining, the Bears were forced to foul and were fortunate when St. Gregory’s missed the front end of a 1 and 1.

Then, with their final possession, the Bears triumphed on the Skoufis buzzer-beater.

And mayhem at Morton Gym ensued.

“It’s always exciting,” Paras said. “You want the kids to succeed because it’s something that will be memorable for them. … This is a story they can tell their friends. This is a game their grandparents will be able to talk about. … You just hope it carries over to their high school careers.”

Note to readers: This article has been changed as two players were originally misidentified. Forward Derek Waldvogel registered the initial offensive rebound and center Peter Skoufis made the game-winning shot.