BRAIDWOOD — Despite being portrayed as the home team on the scoreboard, the Seneca Fighting Irish played the role of visitors in their opening-round matchup of the Interstate Eight conference tournament on Saturday night, taking on the hosting Reed-Custer Comets. Despite a high-energy atmosphere, the top-seeded Irish were able to hold off the eighth-seeded Comets and advanced to the semifinals with a 78-69 win.

The Irish got off to a blistering start, breaking Reed-Custer’s press for three quick buckets on their first three possessions. Seneca continued to apply the pressure, nailing its first four three-point attempts on its way to opening up an 18-4 lead with 3:36 to play in the first quarter.

Junior guard Conlan Callahan hit his first three attempts from beyond the arc and would go on to hit five treys in the first half on his way to an 18-point night. However, despite a hot first half, for the most part Callahan took composed shots in rhythm with Seneca’s offense.