All year, Cathedral battled together and never flinched in the title game. The Irish started strong, weathered a New Haven run, and pulled away in the final quarter. Julien Smith opened the scoring with a three-pointer and finished with 11 first-quarter points. Owen Peterson added six early points to fuel Cathedral’s quick start. Jayden Kennedy had an athletic put-back at the buzzer to give the Irish a 21–15 lead after the first quarter. New Haven opened the second quarter with a run, quickly tying the game at 22–22. The Irish responded with a full-court press that led to a steal and a quick 4–0 run. The second quarter was a defensive battle, but Cathedral capitalized in transition for easy baskets. Keaton Aldridge scored his first points of the game on a three-pointer and followed it with a transition layup, finishing the quarter with seven points. Cathedral led 37–29 at halftime. New Haven came out strong in the second half, going on a 12–2 run to take the lead. Jaxon Delaney scored his first points to tie the game at 41. He later made one of two free throws to pull the Irish within two at the end of the quarter. Aldridge opened the fourth quarter with a free throw, and a three-pointer from Kennedy gave Cathedral a quick two-point lead. It was back-and-forth to start the quarter, but the Irish caught fire and pulled away. Cathedral outscored New Haven 22–10 in the fourth quarter to win the 3A state championship. Smith led the Irish with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Aldridge added 17 points and 11 rebounds. This marks the third state title for the Cathedral boys basketball program (previous titles in 2022 and 1998.)