Staff photo / Preston Byers Cardinal Mooney’s Nick Pregibon searches midair for a teammate to pass to during the Cardinals’ Division III regional final against Lutheran East on Saturday in Canton.

CANTON — Everyone’s season has to come to an end at some point, and Saturday afternoon spelled the conclusion of Cardinal Mooney’s 2023-24 campaign. The Cardinals, despite a valiant fourth-quarter surge in the Division III regional final, fell to Lutheran East 56-43 in Canton.

Many tears were shed and hugs given as the players, coaches, parents and siblings came to grips with Saturday’s defeat. The loss marks not only the end of the season, but for a large chunk of the Mooney roster, it also was the final time they played a basketball game for the Cardinals.

“Playing here means everything,” senior Rocco Turner said. “It’s not a moment really anyone enjoys. There were guys crying. The big thing that hit me was hugging my brother because that’s the last game that we’ll ever be on the same team.”

The Cardinals dug themselves a hole through the first three quarters, with Mooney struggling to counter Lutheran East’s superior size and athleticism. To make matters worse, Mooney’s shots fell off the rim more often than they fell through the net, allowing the Falcons’ advantage to continue to grow.

Lutheran East led by eight after the first quarter and improved that edge to 14 points by halftime. The third quarter did not go any better for Mooney, which trailed by 17 heading into what would be the final quarter of the season, and for many, their high school careers.

Seemingly understanding the moment, senior wing Ashton O’Brien scored on nearly each Mooney possession to eat away at Lutheran East’s lead. What was at one point a 17-point advantage became a seven-point lead that felt anything but secure after O’Brien scored 10 of his game-high 18 points, charging a 12-2 Mooney run to open the fourth.

“We knew we were gonna make a run. We just wish we shot the ball a lot better earlier in the game,” Palermo said. “They’re gonna fight. There hasn’t been a game this year — win or loss — where I’ve ever said like, ‘we need to keep our foot on the gas’ or ‘we got to do more’ or whatever. I wasn’t surprised at that. It is a tremendous amount of character. These kids are unbelievable.”

The Cardinals could not manage to get any closer than seven points, however, as Lutheran East capitalized on Mooney’s full-court press to stay ahead and ultimately close out its regional championship victory.

As time ticked down under 30 seconds, Mooney head coach Carey Palermo subbed out senior Will Desmond as the Cardinals went on offense. Not knowing if this would be the last time Desmond would be leaving the floor, Palermo stopped and talked with Desmond, who slung his arm around his coach.

“He means the world to me. His effort, his leadership means the world to me. There’s so many of our guys who laid it on the line this year, and and he was one of them,” Palermo said.

Still down double digits with under 20 seconds to go, Palermo finally waved the proverbial white flag and subbed out each of his seniors on the floor for a final time, giving each a hug as they walked to the bench. The players and coaches embraced with each other, while the Mooney fans in attendance stood and applauded.

And just like that, it was over. For someone like Jibri Carter, who Palermo said earlier in the season very well could have left for a program that could offer him more playing time as an underclassman, it was the end of a fulfilling career.

“Definitely a long, hard journey, but I knew there was a great end goal,” Carter. “I had seen the success that this team had early, when I was young, and I wanted the same success too. I figured it out, stayed here, thugged it out and it ended up being great.”

Eddie Nieves didn’t start his high school career at Mooney, but he expressed his joy at ending it at Mooney.

“[I] came over here and I got used to more of a winning culture, and along with that, I made good friends with my teammates and I had a fun one and a half years with them. I couldn’t ask for a better team to finish off my high school career with,” Nieves said.

Mooney’s group of seniors leaves behind a legacy of winning; in the last four seasons, the Cardinals won three district titles and were a game away from reaching the state semifinals twice. Unfortunately for Mooney, Lutheran East stamped out their state championship hopes in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

After the game, Mooney’s players hugged their parents, each other and members of the student section before making their way to the locker room, where Palermo spoke with his team for more than 10 minutes.

“It’s tough. I love this team,” Palermo said. “I can’t say enough good things about them. They do it the right way. We’re built on togetherness. We’re built on hard work. I love these guys.

“You feel sad and you feel upset… We taught our younger guys, even though it sucks, that you feel this way and they’re crying and nothing I say is gonna make them feel better, but they earned the right to feel that way.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Preston Byers by email at pbyers@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @PresByers.