On a night when star forward Alex Lanier struggled, St. Aloyisus had almost enough to pull off a big win in its Division 7-1A opener against Sebastapol.

Note the emphasis on almost.

Point guard Ford Biedenharn led a balanced attack with 15 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Bobcats edged the Flashes 72-71 on Tuesday.

St. Aloysius (3-5, 0-1 Division 7-1A play) was able to cope with the ferocious Sebastapol press early, but in the second half, the Bobcats (4-0, 1-0) used it to erase a six-point halftime deficit.

“We had them up pretty good,” Lanier, who finished with 14 points, said. “They started double-teaming our point and we turned it over too much.”

Justin Spivey was another reason, as the Bobcat guard scored a game-high 30 points, much of it coming beyond the arc.

“We had a chance late and that was all you could ask,” St. Aloysius coach Gary Miller said. “The difference was they made the big shots when they had to and we didn’t.”

After outscoring the Flashes 23-15 in the third, the Bobcats led by two going into the fourth quarter, which was a seesaw affair throughout. Lanier came alive and scored a couple of baskets as the teams exchanged leads for much of the stanza.

With 2:40 left in the game, St. Aloysius got the lead at 67-66 off Sean Johnson’s driving layup. But Spivey used a screen perfectly to swish a 3-pointer that gave Sebastapol the lead for good.

Lanier scored on a driving layup to cut the deficit to a deuce with 1:45 showing. But on the ensuing play, Beidenharn gambled on a steal attempt at the top of the key and lost, allowing Spivey to streak to the basket and find James Patrick for a layup.

However, Beidenharn needed only a few seconds for redemption. He coolly drilled a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 72-71.

He also got the steal on the sideline with 13 seconds later, but on the ensuing play, Johnson’s jumper went off the right rim and the Bobcats were able to preserve the victory.

In the early going, it was all Flashes as Biedenharn ran the offense like a veteran, hitting big shots and finding the open man for easy buckets. After a nip and tuck first quarter, the Flashes blew open the contest with a 10-0 run. Johnson canned a trifecta to start the outburst, Biedenharn found a cutting Chris Lewis underneath for an easy layup, Johnson hit a turnaround jumper, Fisher Campbell had a putback and Lanier hit a free throw as the Flashes jumped out front 36-22.

But in an ominous sign of things to come, the Bobcats went back to their press and forced three straight turnovers, which they mined for a 10-2 run. Spivey hit a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to whittle the lead to 38-32 at the break.

“We handled it (the press) well for three quarters,” Miller said. “But we didn’t sub as much as they did and I think we got tired late.”

Johnson added 14 points and Lewis scored 12 for the Flashes.

Sebastopol girls beat St. Al, 67-45

Katie Koestler had 16 points and Carlye Smith added 12 as the Lady Flashes (2-8, 0-1) fell in their Division 7-1A opener.

Nishaka Hughes led Sebastapol (7-1, 1-0) with 29 points and Bianca Thomas added 15.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.