From the start, Mooseheart failed to shoot the ball well on Friday against Westminster Christian.

Through the middle of the third quarter, that deficiency hadn't cost the Ramblers as the IHSA Class 1A Regional hosts were also having trouble finding the basket.

But at that point, the Warriors surged, Mooseheart's offense continued to sputter, and the pattern of the rest of the game was set. Westminster Christian used a late run to power past the Ramblers 47-30 to claim the regional title.

"We're disappointed," Mooseheart senior Chris Morones said. "But that's what happens sometimes."

Mooseheart (17-7) finished one game shy of its first regional title. The Ramblers have four district titles dating to the time when Illinois had one class for boys basketball. The most recent of those titles came in the 1963-64 season.

"I'm very disappointed," Morones said. "Every year, since freshman year, we progressed a little bit. This year looked like the year we would go just a little further than we had before. We just came up a little bit short."

Friday's game was the Ramblers struggle from the start. They led 2-0, but fell behind 9-4 after the first quarter and trailed 16-12 at halftime

"Our movement and placement was way off," Mooseheart coach Jeff Perales said. "We were playing a good team. When you play a good team like this, you have to be patient. We struggled with that tonight."

Importantly, Mike Tovar picked up his third foul with 3:25 left in the second quarter. He went to the bench and did not re-enter the game until the fourth quarter.

"It didn't help that (Tovar) had to be on the bench with foul trouble," Morones said. "It does a lot to a team when one of their best players and a leader has to sit for such a long time."

Tovar had half of Mooseheart's 12 points in the first half, and he did not score in the second half, finishing with those 6 first half points.

"I thought he'd be a little rusty, coming in for the fourth quarter with a lot of pressure," Perales said. "We just couldn't make shots. We had a lot of nice looks at the basket that didn't fall for us tonight."

Despite their scoring woes, the Ramblers closed to 23-31 with 2:43 left in the third quarter when Dennis Davis completed a three-point play.

That proved a false dawn, however, as the Warriors went on a 19-1 run and overpowered the Ramblers in the final 11 minutes of play.

"We just couldn't capitalize," Morones said.

In Tovar's absence, Floyd Mays became the team's leading scorer with 9 points.

The Ramblers crowd nearly filled its half of the Westminster Christian gym. The home team overflowed from its bleachers. The result was a high school atmosphere that many playoff sites dream about.

Mooseheart graduates seniors Mays, Morones, Tovar and Anthony Coleman -- but a solid core returns for the 2008-09 campaign.

"I know they can't wait to see what next year's going to turn out to be," Mays said. "Hopefully they'll continue the tradition and this success will keep going on and on."

GAME STATS

3-point goals:
Mooseheart:
Kendor 1, Mays 1
Westminster Christian
Hodge 1

Total fouls:
Mooseheart 14
Westminster Christian 9
Fouled out: None