Close losses to good competition aren’t leaving Great Crossing with that warm, fuzzy, holiday feeling. The Warhawks can only hope those outcomes will pay dividends when the calendar eventually flips to February and March.

GC had its chances Tuesday to pull off a signature win over Indianapolis Cathedral for the second straight season, this time on the Fighting Irish’s home floor.

The Warhawks fully erased one double-digit deficit and nearly scrubbed another before absorbing an 80-74 defeat.

Cathedral (7-0) turned the sixth and final lead change of a wild third quarter into a run of nine unanswered points that carried into the fourth period.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Colt Delimpo and Travanti Cooper II brought Great Crossing within four points at 72-68 with three minutes left, but the Warhawks (3-5) nudged no closer.

“Probably our best game of the year, but losing is not our standard,” GC coach Steve Page said.

It was a familiar refrain in this first month for a reigning state championship program with five new starters. 

The Hawks have lost by nine to Frederick Douglass, eight to Ballard, and five to Vestavia Hills, Alabama.

Brady Orem led Great Crossing with 17 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Cathedral held the 6-foot-7 sophomore without a field goal in the second half.

Cooper also scored 17 points to go along with five assists and three steals. Delimpo had a career night with 3-for-4 accuracy from 3-point range and 13 points.

Graham Swartz added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists. Ozzy Ismail scored all eight of his points in the second half.

Both teams shot north of 50 percent and combined for 16 3-pointers, nine by the Warhawks.

Seventeen turnovers hampered Great Crossing, and a stark difference in free throws made and attempted favored the hosts. 

The Fighting Irish went 21-for-29 at the stripe, while the Warhawks went 11-for-14. 

Cathedral threatened to put it out of reach early. GC giveaways on four of its first five possessions led to a 9-2 opening run.

Cooper and Delimpo drained threes to help the Hawks find their footing, but the Irish embarked on another parade of nine consecutive points to build a 21-8 cushion after five minutes.

GC got Orem involved late in the first quarter and early in the second to start clawing its way out of the hole.

Jesse Washington scored twice during an 8-2 excursion that brought the hawks within four. Keaton Aldridge’s layup at the horn gave Cathedral a 41-35 edge.

Swartz’s left-hand drive to the cup started a six-point spurt that granted GC its initial lead. Back-to-back buckets by Jordan Koonce, the first off a steal and outlet pass from Cooper, put the Hawks in front, 46-45, with 5:41 to go in the third.

Ismail broke into the scoring column with a layup and a three courtesy of a kick-out from Koonce, both of which put GC on top.

Orem twice swished a pair of free throws to swing it back to the Hawks, lastly at 55-54 with just over two minutes to go in the third.

Aldridge sandwiched four free throws around a bank-shot three by Braydon Miles, vaulting Cathedral to a 61-55 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

After the Hawks pulled within four in the latter stages, freshman Ryan Gold delivered a baseline drive and a corner three to put it out of reach for the Irish.

Great Crossing dropped to 11-6 against out-of-state opponents since the 2022-23 season. The Warhawks beat the Irish, 89-88, in an overtime thriller at Thomas More University this past January.

The Warhawks will take on Caverna at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the opening round of the annual White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic.

Based on first-round results, GC would face either Daviess County or Woodford County on Sunday.

Other schools in the 16-team tournament are the host Knights, Paintsville, Bryan Station, West Jessamine, North Oldham, Taylor County, Boyd County, McCracken County, Lyon County, Collins, Marshall County and North Laurel.