Whereas most teams would be disappointed with a season-ending defeat – and not to be misunderstood, the Friars were – Monsignor Bonner's five seniors took comfort Saturday after their loss to North Catholic in the Catholic League quarterfinals.

The seniors - Henry Smith, Brian Boyle, Jerry Colvin, Matt Cummings and Bill Scanlan - helped establish a budding legacy at Bonner. Prior to their enrollment at the school in 2005, the Friars had not been in the playoffs in five seasons. They had not won a playoff game since their coach Brian Daly was wearing a green and white jersey. Now, the Friars are coming off their fourth consecutive playoff berth.

“Unfortunately, we had dreams of going a little further and winning the championship,” Boyle said, “but every guy who walked out of our locker room was satisfied with how our careers went. It could’ve been better, but none of us would trade it for anything.”

Well, except for maybe another win. “Maybe,” Boyle said, with a half-smile.

Tuesday night brought the first real 'weather threat' to the boys basketball season, with some freezing rain and slippery streets.

But there were six games played and a couple had interesting developments:

1. Chester took care of business in its Del Val League opener against Interboro, but needed the second half to close the deal and expand on a one-point halftime lead. No need to call the optometrist - you read that correctly. One point? Wow.

2. Episcopal Academy sent the game to overtime on a buzzer-beating three, but stumbled two OT sessions later. This EA team, for being so young, is pretty darn good.

3. Glen Mills beat Academy Park in what I like to call a 'four corners kind of game.' Park held the ball throughout and the Mills almost lost because of it. But isn't it a little too early in the season to be trying to beat a team by taking advantage of the lack of a shot clock?

***NOTE: If you didn't notice, I italicized the word but throughout this post, which is going to be a weekly segment on Gettin' Schooled called "No Excuses." It gives me a chance to delve a little deeper into some of the games throughout the week. Let me know what you think.

***ALSO: Take a look at Matt Smith's game story from Tuesday's paper. He does a real nice job of writing up the latest installment of the neighborhood rivalry between Cardinal O'Hara and Monsignor Bonner, in which Jerry Colvin and the Friars took down the Lions.