WARNER – Aberdeen Roncalli built a first-half lead, and then needed a fourth-quarter comeback to slip past Warner on Saturday afternoon.

The Cavaliers came up clutch down the stretch to pick up a 63-61 non-conference boys’ basketball win during a see-saw affair. Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher described the contest as a “battle.”

“I thought it was just a resilient battle on both ends,” Gallagher said. “Going into half, we had a four-point lead, and Warner really came out strong and finished that third quarter. We went into that fourth quarter down nine and our guys just really responded.”

The final period came after Roncalli built an early lead in the first half and seemed ready to pull away at times, with Maddox Miller, Keegan Stewart, and Caden Shelton hitting several big shots to keep the Cavaliers in front. However, the Monarchs kept the game close and cut the Roncalli lead to 29-25 at halftime.

“It was one of those deals where we felt like we were pulling away at times,” Gallagher said. “We got up seven and then all of a sudden, they get a couple of bunnies inside. We just had to minimize the damage on that.”

In the third quarter, Warner flipped the script, outscoring Roncalli 24-11 to take a 49-40 lead into the final period. Gallagher said multiple factors contributed to the third-quarter slump.

“We got into some foul trouble, sending them to the free throw line a few too many times,” Gallagher said. “They played really good team basketball. They had a couple of steals on kind of some lackluster plays by us, and forced a couple of shots early that we probably didn’t need. Compounding those things together, it was just one of those deals where it’s not really a recipe for success.”

In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers climbed back into the game. Warner still led 55-49 before Roncalli  eventually caught and passed the Monarchs in the final minutes. Parker Grieben scored inside, Stewart hit a key shot in the lane, and the Cavaliers closed out the contest with three clutch free throws in the closing seconds to cement the narrow win. Warner scored a basket at the buzzer for the final margin of difference.

Gallagher reminded his team of last season’s contest against Warner, in which Roncalli was down and came back for the win. The pep talk worked as the Cavaliers rallied for a victory again.

“We knew we could battle back; it was just a matter of are we going to will ourselves into that position?” Gallagher said. “We started with a big stop, got a big bucket on the very first possession, and guys just really responded from there. We were able to get the job done.”

Warner was led by Hunter Cramer, who tallied a game-high 25 points, while Brodey Sauerwein had 13 points. Zach Evans and Gavin Lane finished with 10 and nine, respectively. The Monarchs will host Northwestern on Tuesday.

Stewart led the Cavaliers with 20 points, including three 3-pointers, while Miller had 14 points. Parker Grieben had 12 points, and Aiden Fisher finished with nine.

Roncalli, 5-4 on the season, will travel to Tiospa Zina on Tuesday for a Northeast Conference contest.

Gallagher said while it was a good win against the Monarchs, the Cavaliers will work to keep improving.

“We need to still look at things that we can get better at and find ways to correct those,” Gallagher said. “We’ve got a really solid TZ squad coming up now on Tuesday, so we’ve just got to find those small, incremental ways that we can continue to get better.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-4): Maddox Miller 4 4-5 14, Caden Shelton 2 0-0 5, Keegan Stewart 7 3-4 20, Aiden Fisher 2 4-4 9, Parker Grieben 6 0-1 12, Brody Weinmeister 1 1-1 3. Totals 23 12-15 63.

WARNER (6-4): Hunter Cramer 8 9-11 25, Drew Bakeberg 2 0-0 4, Zach Evans 5 0-0 10, Gavin Lane 3 0-0 9, Brodey Sauerwein 5 3-3 13. Totals 23 12-14 61.

Aberdeen Roncalli 18 29 40 63

Warner 14 25 49 61

3-point field goals – Stewart (3), Miller (2), Fisher (2), Shelton; Lane (3). Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 17; Warner 14.