[2/19/03]McADAMS St. Aloysius wasn’t intimidated by the championship banners hanging in McAdams’ gym, or by the talented team that called the place home.

No amount of fearlessness could help the Flashes overcome the difference in talent, though, and McAdams overwhelmed St. Al with quickness, toughness, and deadly accurate shooting to cruise to an 88-58 rout in the North State satellite game Tuesday night.

Antoyne Brooks scored 26 of his game-high 35 points in the first half, hit five 3-pointers, and also had five assists and four steals for McAdams (22-6), while Kenneth Miller had 16 points, 19 rebounds, four steals and four assists. Domonick Miller also had 16 points for the Bulldogs.

Alan Ebersole had eight points and 11 rebounds and Anthony Rector scored 21 points for St. Al, which finished its season with an 11-15 record.

Despite the losing mark, St. Al coach Paul Hayden said it was a successful season for the Flashes. They went farther into the postseason than any St. Al team in the last 30 years, and will lose only three seniors.

“This has been a fun group of guys. It’s sad to see my seniors leave,” Hayden said. “Any season coming to an end, I don’t like. Yes, we do have an upside for next year. It’s been a successful year.”

St. Al senior Jason Brown, who had eight points and four rebounds in his final high school game, said the Flashes’ unexpected run to the satellite game was “fun.”

“It was fun. We made history,” Brown said.

For about five minutes on Tuesday, it looked as if the Flashes might have some more magic up their sleeves.

St. Al controlled the tempo in the early going, and led 11-9 with about three minutes to play in the first quarter. The Flashes were able to control the boards early on, and forced McAdams into several turnovers.

“(St. Al) shot the ball a little better than I thought they could,” McAdams coach Wilson Jackson said. “We played a little tight. Outside shots didn’t fall and we missed some easy inside shots in the beginning.”

Jackson admitted that McAdams took the Flashes lightly before the game, and Hayden said he was counting on it.

“I knew they would. It was a situation where you’re going to see that anytime you have a higher seed versus a lower seed,” Hayden said.

With about three minutes to play in the first quarter, though, McAdams stopped playing around and just started playing. The Bulldogs went on a 14-2 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes, opening a 23-13 lead.

Brooks led the charge, scoring 12 points and hitting three 3-pointers in the period.

Taking advantage of 20 St. Al turnovers in the first half 10 in each of the first two quarters McAdams was able to stretch the lead to 50-29 at halftime and never trailed again.

The Flashes had one last surge, but it wasn’t enough. St. Al opened the second half with a 9-2 run to cut it to 52-38 with 5:34 to play in the third quarter, but McAdams answered with a crushing 14-0 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes.

The run pushed the lead to 66-38 and put the game away.

After Rector hit a layup to make it 52-38, McAdams outscored the Flashes 24-5 the rest of the third quarter. The Bulldogs led by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter before a late St. Al run produced the final margin.