So much this year has been said about senior Viking MVP Jeremy Lin that many people forget that last year, now-senior Brad Lehman led the Paly basketball team to the NorCal finals with Lin on the bench with an injury.

On Saturday, Archbishop Mitty (29-5) forgot about Lehman allowing him to score the Vikings’ last seven points giving Palo Alto (31-1) a 45-43 thrilling victory at Arco Arena. The Monarchs’ final shot bounced off the rim twice before falling just left of the basket. As the Vikings stormed the court, the Monarchs were left mystified wondering how they let the game and the season slip away.

In the semifinals against Laguna Creek, Lin dished to senior Steven Brown for the game clinching three-pointer. Apparently, the Monarchs didn’t watch the tape from the last game. When he doesn’t shoot, Lin tries to draw a double-team, leaving a teammate open. The Monarchs, like the Cardinals on Thursday, focused on Lin, leaving other Vikings to break their hearts.

The Vikings came in trying to forget last year’s 38-58 loss to eventual state champ Oak Ridge. Last year the Vikings were content with just making the finals, but after a crushing defeat, the Vikings wanted more this year.

“Every year we want to win league and CCS,” senior Kevin Trimble said. “This year, we decided early on that we were legitimate enough to contend for a state title."

Even after defeating the Monarchs 50-38 eight days ago, many felt Palo Alto, a public school, had no chance to defeat the West Catholic League powerhouse twice. The Vikings, despite the lack of respect, were not concerned with predictions.

“I don’t think there’s any extra motivation to win because of that,” Paly head coach Peter Diepenbrock said before Saturday’s game. “But it would be nice to prove them wrong.”

“If someone needs extra motivation in a game like this, they shouldn’t be playing this game,” assistant Paly coach Bob Roehl said.

By the end of the first quarter, the predictions of a Mitty win appeared to be correct. Three straight three pointers gave the Monarchs an early 9-0 lead. The Vikings came out slow and cold, shooting only 2-12. Lin scored six points in the quarter, but that was all the Vikings would get. The Vikings managed to limit Mitty star sophomore Drew Gordon, who, at 6’9”, averages a double-double every game, but they could not stop the outside shot and suddenly found themselves down 20-6.

In the second quarter, the Vikings defense stepped up, limiting the Monarchs to just six points, but no one except for Lin or Lehman could hit a shot for the Vikings. Lin scored the Viking’s first 10 points before Lehman made his first basket. The Vikings were still down 11 points until Brown nailed another huge three at the buzzer to cut Mitty’s halftime lead to eight.

The Vikings uncharacteristically shot very poorly in the first half at only 7-26. The Monarchs shot 10-22, but their poor second quarter performance allowed the Vikings to gain some momentum going into the second half. Lin carried the Vikings with 13 of the team’s 18 first half points, but he often tried to do too much and the team seemed content with letting him do so.

During the third quarter, the Vikings showed why they can play with any team in the state. A smothering defense held the Monarchs to just five points while the Vikings’ offense began giving Lin some support.

“We got a lot of transition opportunities that really gave us the momentum,” Diepenbrock said.

The Vikings grew more and more confident as they quarter progressed and the results proved it.

“I looked at the scoreboard and said ‘Oh, we’re leading. That’s good,’"said senior Cooper Miller, who scored all six of his points in the third quarter. "But even before we took the lead, we felt we were going to win."

Miller’s basket with 1:16 left in the third quarter gave the Vikings their first lead at 32-31. The Vikings added two more points to take the three-point lead into the final quarter.

The Vikings, having completed an amazing 19 point turnaround, looked to put the game out of reach, but the Monarchs would not back down. With 5:25 left in the game, guard Kevin Toth stole the ball from Lin and not only scored a basket, but also drew Lin’s fourth foul. With the game now tied at 36 and Lin on the bench in foul trouble, the Monarchs had the momentum, but strong defense on both sides limited the scoring, causing another tie at 39. With Lin back in the game and the scored tied, the seasons of both teams came down to a three-minute battle for the championship.

Mitty struck first when guard Thomas Fang scored two of his 13 points. In previous games, Lin would have been the one to retaliate, but Lin found Lehman open for the three-pointer with 2:05 left. The shot caused an eruption from the Paly bench and fans.

With only 41 seconds left, Fang quieted the Paly fans with another bucket, giving the Monarchs a 43-42 lead. The Vikings found themselves in very unfamiliar territory while the Monarchs were less than a minute away from the state championship game. It seemed logical that Lin would take the final shot, but like a true champion, Lin recognized the open man. Lehman once again found himself with the ball and an open shot.

“It felt good once the ball left my hand,” Lehman said. "I figured it had a good chance to go in."

It did. The Vikings jumped off the bench to congratulate their teammate as the Monarchs called a timeout. Paly had achieved the most unlikely of comebacks, but one three-pointer from the Monarchs, who shot 40 percent during the game, would have sent the Vikings home. The Monarchs could have gone to sophomore Collin Chiverton, who already hit a NorCal Division II championship game record five three-pointers.

Instead, the ball came to Fang, who passed up the shot from outside for a higher percentage one. Senior Kheaton Scott appeared to have the rebound for the Vikings, but in the melee, the ball popped loose to Chiverton. He dished to Toth, who drove and put up a off-balance shot. The ball looked as though it might fall in causing overtime, but it fell just left of the basket as the buzzer sounded leaving no chance for a tip-in. Gordon, sitting underneath the basket and unable to interfere with the ball while it was in the cylinder, was forced to watch helplessly as the final few seconds of his season slipped away.