EAST LANSING----They had beaten the odds so many times this season, that up until the final seconds of Thursday night's Class D state semifinal game, the Carney-Nadeau Wolves truly believed that somehow, someway, they would come from behind and beat the Climax-Scotts Panthers.
 

But this time, there would be no miracle buzzer-beater as the Panthers slipped past the Wolves, 52-44, at Michigan State University's Breslin Center. The greatest season in the history of Wolves boys basketball ended one game short of its goal. But even in the moments after the loss set in, the boys and their coach were able to reflect on this emotional playoff run.
 

"It's been awesome," Carney-Nadeau Coach Jake Polfus said. "Like I told the kids after the game, for the seniors, 'it might have been your last game, but Carney-Nadeau basketball is like one big family for life'. That was proven tonight when you saw all of these people (spectators) here."
 

The captain of the Wolves, senior Lucas Moreau, was equally emotional.

"It was amazing. You can't believe the amount of support that we got," Moreau said. "I mean, we have our rivals during the season, but in the end, you have the whole U.P. behind you. It was a dream come true (playing at the Breslin Center), ever since I was a little kid."
 

Polfus admitted that his team would have to live or die with the three-point shot against Climax-Scotts, because the Panthers boasted a pair of 6-foot-7 players that the Wolves simply could not match inside size-wise.
 

Although....at one point, Wolves junior Wade Schetter went inside and got a clean block on a kid who was eight inches taller than him. The blocked shot "wow'd" the Fox Sports Detroit television broadcasters, as the slow-motion replay showed that Schetter had timed it just right.
 

It all came down to shooting, however. And the Wolves didn't shoot as well against the Panthers as they did Tuesday against Pellston. They made 6-of-24 three-pointers, and overall, canned just 17 of 58 shot attempts.
 

Carney fell behind early, trailing 16-10 after the first quarter, and the Wolves were behind at halftime, 27-19. But the defense was good to start the second half and the Wolves closed to within 29-27 midway through the third quarter when Dylan Lanaville scored to complete an 8-2 C-N run.
 

But the Panthers (26-1) answered with seven straight points to put the Wolves into a 36-27 hole. Carney did not give up, as Keenan Lampinen nailed a three-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter, bringing the Wolves to within 36-32 heading into the final eight minutes of play.
 

The game seemed to be following the same script as the Pellston game, when the Wolves trailed late in the third quarter, only to come back on three's like the one Lampinen made. And when Wade Schetter kicked it out to Moreau for a wide-open three, Carney was within 40-37 with 3:10 left.
 

And things looked good for Carney when 6-7 Malachi Satterlee got a cramp and had to lay on the sidelines for a couple of minutes while his legs got stretched out by trainers. But during that time, the Wolves could not take advantage, as the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to seal the game at 47-37.
 

CLICK HERE to see the game's statistics, and play-by-play report.
 

"They got on a run, and we made a run back, but it seemed like we could never get over that hump all night long," Polfus said. "Getting a little bit of a lead would have been nice, but they did a nice job of sustaining their lead."
 

"We faced tough teams all year," Schetter said in the post-game press conference. "And we faced physical teams. But tonight, we got past the physical-ness, but we couldn't hit the shots that we usually hit."
 

Satterlee had 12 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Cook had 12 points and 14 boards, and Kirk Gibson had 12 points to lead the Panthers. The Wolves got 15 points from Schetter, 13 from Moreau, and 12 from Lampinen.
 

For Moreau, it was the end of a dream season as he prepares to graduate.
 

"We weren't always the biggest, but we dreamed the biggest," Moreau, the captain said, after the game. "This team was amazing. And the experience was the greatest thing that has happened to me throughout my life."
 

Polfus looked at his heartbroken kids and told them this:
 

"They played a fantastic game tonight," the fourth-year coach said. "We did everything we wanted to. We didn't give up many offensive rebounds, kept our turnovers down. We just didn't knock down our shots. But I'm proud of each and every one of these kids for the effort they gave all night long."
 

Carney-Nadeau finishes its best-ever season with a 23-3 record.