Parkersburg Catholic’s Leonardo DeAngelo (4) makes a pass as Notre Dame’s Jovanni Minocci defends during Thursday’s Class A, Region I semifinal. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

PARKERSBURG — A lot can change in a year. Parkersburg Catholic is a prime example of that.

A year after going 7-16, the Crusaders find themselves one win away from punching their ticket to the Class A state tournament. PCHS defeated Notre Dame 70-46 in Thursday’s Region I semifinals and will host Magnolia at 7 p.m. Wednesday, with the winner earning a spot in Charleston.

“It’s great to have this opportunity,” said Catholic head coach JIm McLean. “They have earned the opportunity, which is the main goal of the regular season. Now, it’s time to take advantage of that and enjoy every second of it.”

Luke Anderson led all scorers with 17 points. He was one of four Crusaders to score in double figures.

“I don’t think anyone can beat us on our court when we’re all on fire,” Anderson said.

Parkersburg Catholic’s Luke Anderson, center, does a spin move in the paint as Notre Dame’s Jordan King, left, and Brayden Helmick defend during Thursday’s Class A, Region I semifinal. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“We had a bunch of energy. We knew what we needed to do. We scouted them and we did what we needed to do tonight.”

Catholic never trailed in the contest. Carter Nelson’s basket with 3:05 to go in the first made it 19-9.

After a bucket from Brayden Helmick, who led the Irish with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, Branson Lott answered with a 3-pointer to make it 22-11. The Crusaders maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the contest.

It was 26-13 after one, 48-27 at halftime and 60-41 after three. Catholic took its first 20-point lead at the 5:03 mark of the second when Anderson assisted Nelson on a basket.

Notre Dame got within 15 midway through the third thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Dominico Minnocci, but Catholic fired back with consecutive triples by Anderson and Andrew Francisco to extinguish any possibility of a rally.

Parkersburg Catholic’s Preston Randolph warms up at the free-throw line prior to Thursday’s Class A, Region I semifinal game against Notre Dame. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Jovanni Minnocci scored 12 points for the Irish, who finished 5-17 on the year, while Dominico Minnocci added 10. McLean thought Notre Dame presented a pretty tough matchup.

“They just ended up (as the eight seed) because they lost some early games when they were hurt,” he said. “We knew that was a matchup we really did not want to see in the region, and you can see why. They’ve got guys, they’re well coached — we played against a couple of those guys for many years, and they’re a good ball club. They were a little bit under-seeded, in my opinion.”

Preston Randolph scored 16 points for Catholic while Leonardo DeAngelo added 11. Branson Lott finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double and also notched five assists. Nelson chipped in seven points and three dimes.

“One of our goals tonight was to get to the rim or kick out shots,” said McLean, whose team defeated Notre Dame 72-43 back on Feb. 5. “In the first half, we did a really good job getting the ball to the rim for high-percentage shots, making them go to a zone. When we played up at their place the first time, we missed a lot of bunnies at the rim. We just needed to lock in and finish our high-percentage shots tonight.”

Catholic shot 41.7% (25 for 60) from the floor and out-rebounded the Irish 41-27.

“We share the ball really well most of the time,” McLean said. “When we do that, it is hard to guard us. I keep telling them we’re going to get good looks. As long as we’re crashing the glass, we’ve got a pretty good chance of moving on.”

Notre Dame finished 36.2% (17 for 47) from the field.

“We just had to wall up on defense and get rebounds,” Anderson said.

Catholic’s senior class, which includes Anderson, Randolph, DeAngelo, Evan Murphy and Carson Logston, gets one final game on their home floor.

“It means a lot,” Anderson said. “We need to fight hard and continue to do what we do.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.