LAWRENCE — Will Foley didn’t forget the pain.
He didn’t forget air-balling a 3 when the Notre Dame boys basketball team lost by two to Lawrence in last year’s CVC Tournament semifinals. He didn’t forget the four weeks of rehab last month with a broken wrist. And he certainly didn’t forget the Cardinals hounding him all game Wednesday night with a spot in the CVC final at stake again.
For the star senior guard, this was his moment of redemption.
Foley was drenched in sweat and out of breath after hitting a miraculous step-back 3-pointer at the final buzzer in overtime to send 12th-seeded Notre Dame past top-seeded Lawrence with a 55-53 win.
Notre Dame will face second-seeded Trenton at WW-P North on Saturday at 5 p.m. for the CVC championship.
“Coach drew it up, I knew I was gonna have to improvise, and, my God, what a game,” Foley said afterward, his mind racing after being mobbed on the court at Lawrence High by teammates and other students. “Crosstown rival, they’re legit. But we’re legit, man. We’re legit.”
The Irish proved it on a night when Foley was held to seven points — none in the second half and overtime — until that final shot. Colin Cunningham stepped up with a career-high 17 points. Musa Kamera added 12 points and some key rebounds. Lucas Chuderewicz also had 12 points, including a free throw that put Notre Dame ahead, 52-51, with 44.4 seconds left in overtime.
After Lawrence star Marvin McNeill knocked down two free throws with 7.1 seconds left to finish with 25 points and give the Cardinals a 53-52 edge, the Irish had to go the length of the court with the game on the line.
Foley caught the inbounds pass from Cunningham, dribbled up the floor, crossed over to his left near midcourt, then back to his right. With Quinn Cahill draped over him and McNeill quickly closing out, Foley stepped back from the wing to create space and flung a shot as he landed out of bounds.
Ballgame.
“We double-teamed and the kid made a step-back NBA 3 with two guys on him,” Lawrence coach Jeff Molinelli said. “It’s a credit to him. It’s a great shot.”
Holy cow. Will Foley hits a stepback 3 at the buzzer to send No. 12 seed Notre Dame past No. 1 seed Lawrence in overtime, 55-53, and into the CVC Tournament final on Saturday. @WillFoley_2026 pic.twitter.com/xiFhheXnk3
— Greg Johnson (@gregp_j) February 19, 2026
Foley knew the shot was good when it left his hand. He never stopped believing his time would come, even after missing two free throws earlier in overtime and struggling at times with Lawrence’s pesky defense.
“They gassed me out. Molinelli, he’s a great coach. Marvin, we all know he’s a great player,” Foley said. “But shoutout to my teammates, man. They stepped up for me big time. Lucas, Colin, Musa, big first half. But like my dad always talks about, no matter how you’re playing, you’re always going to get the last shot. And I knew it was going in.”
This is what Notre Dame has come to expect from its 1,000-point scorer who is committed to York of Pennsylvania. And yet, the euphoria of the moment was still overwhelming.
Chuderewicz immediately darted toward Foley and jumped into his teammate. Cunningham put his hands on his head as he watched the shot fall in while standing right in front of the hoop, then ran to join the celebration in front of Lawrence’s student section.
Coach Tim Stevens raised his two fists and then folded his hands on top of his head, almost in disbelief that his Cinderella Irish had done it again.
“Will is a tireless worker, and you know every single night that he’s gonna get the best defense from the other team,” Stevens said. “I think what was great about tonight is, as well as Will played and as big of a shot as that was, his teammates really stepped up when we needed them to, making big foul shots, making good slips to the basket getting easy buckets.”
Notre Dame also bore down and played solid team defense, setting the tone in the first half by holding Lawrence to only 18 points until there was a minute left in the second quarter. The Irish led by 11 points in that period and held a 29-23 advantage at the half.
“We just wanted to make sure that if we were gonna get beat, try and push them to the outside early, don’t let them get paint touches early, because they have so many guys that can finish around the basket and beat us off the dribble,” Stevens said. “I think we did a decent job packing it in, and then I said we had to win the rebounding battle. And I think we did a pretty decent job of that tonight.”
McNeill finally got going with a flurry of buckets as Lawrence forced about nine turnovers in the second half. Two McNeill free throws gave Lawrence its first lead of the game with 3:08 left in overtime.
“We were getting beat off the bounce a lot in the first half, so really just to keep our guy in front of us a little better,” Molinelli said in explaining his halftime message to his team. “Once we started doing that, we started being able to deny off ball a little, which helped us get some steals.”
Ultimately, Lawrence didn’t get the same level of production from its role players as Notre Dame. Molinelli credited Stevens for developing his players throughout the season while Foley was out of action.
“We knew it was gonna be a whole team effort,” Foley said. “They’re the number one seed for a reason, we were coming to their place. I mean, what a crowd, too. That was awesome. It was just surreal moments, surreal moments.”
Notre Dame lost at home to Lawrence in the season opener on Dec. 12, 55-49, and had only four wins during the regular season. But in Stevens’ mind, three road victories in this tournament to reach the CVC final is exactly where his team should be because his players never wavered in practice under adverse circumstances.
“Earlier in the season there was a lot of nerves because there was a lot of inexperience. Then Will went down, there’s a lot of nerves because everyone is playing a different role,” Stevens said. “I think we’re finally at a point where we’re comfortable, we’re playing like we were early in the season before Will’s injury.”
And the Irish couldn’t have scripted Foley’s return any better: back at the scene of their heartbreaking loss in last year’s CVC semifinals, with Foley drilling a heroic shot on Ash Wednesday.
“That’s gotta be it right here, man. Ash right here,” Foley said. “All glory to God. Nothing is possible without Him, and we’re going to the championship.”
NOTRE DAME (55)
Cunningham 6-5-17, Chuderewicz 5-1-12, Foley 4-0-10, Kamera 5-0-12, Liberto 2-0-4.
Totals — 22-6-55.
LAWRENCE (53)
Carrick 2-2-6, McNeill 9-4-25, Wilson 6-0-13, Ale 2-1-3, Amos-Whitfield 3-0-6.
Totals — 22-7-53.
Notre Dame (7-20) 14 15 11 7 8 — 55
Lawrence (17-8) 11 12 12 12 6 — 53
3-point goals: Foley 2, Kamera 2, Chuderewicz (ND), McNeill 2, Wilson (L).
