During a break in practice a couple of weeks ago, Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey said he was a little worried his team’s trip to Hawaii for the Iolani Classic could be threatened by the eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano.

Activity from the Mauna Loa eruption - the first in nearly 40 years - calmed and Mount St. Joseph made its way to Honolulu for the Iolani Classic. The top-ranked Gaels sent shockwaves on the national scene en route to a second-place finish.

Mount St. Joseph (10-2 overall) fell in double overtime to Philadelphia’s Neumann-Goretti early Thursday, 76-72, morning on the East Coast.

Twenty-four hours earlier, the Gaels upset Florida’s Montverde Academy, 56-55, ranked No. 1 nation among fifth-year and prep schools by MaxPreps.

“Outside of winning league championships, no doubt the best win in program history,” said Clatchey. “It was magical for MSJ basketball.”

University of Illinois-bound forward Amani Hansberry, last season’s VSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year, had 15 points and Austin Abrams finished with 14 points. UMBC recruit Ace Valentine and promising junior forward Tyonne Farrell were solid throughout the match for the Gaels, who overcame a 10-point first half deficit.

Brashawn Galloway’s follow-up with 1 minute, 48 seconds left in regulation, put Mount St. Joseph up 56-54.

“We showed a great deal of grit, toughness, poise and belief,” said Clatchey, whose team led 28-27 at halftime before overcoming a five-point deficit in the second half. “Just goes to show on any given night, any team can be beat.”

The Gaels faced another nationally-ranked team in Neumann-Goretti (No. 9 among four-year high school programs by MaxPreps) in the Iolani Classic final which tipped off at 1 a.m. Thursday morning (8 p.m. Wednesday Hawaii time).

Down 55-45 with less than five minutes left in regulation, Mount St. Joseph went on a 14-2 run, capped with Abrams’ 3-pointer, to take a 59-57 lead with 24 seconds left. Neumann-Goretti’s Sultan Adewale’s tip-in off a miss by junior teammate Robert Wright, with three seconds to play, sent the game into overtime.

The Gaels acquired a 67-65 advantage on two free throws by Farrell with 16.3 seconds remaining in the extra session, but Wright slipped his way into the lane and dropped a short floater to tie the match with two seconds left to force another overtime.

Mount St. Joseph led 72-69 with 1:45 left in the second overtime after a baseline jumper from Abrams. Wright, a Baylor commit and the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, converted back-to-back baskets to put the reigning Pennsylvania Class 4A and Philadelphia Catholic League champs Neumann-Goretti up 73-72.

Abrams tried to lob the ball to Farrell inside, but it was intercepted by Neumann Goretti. Amir Williams drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 10 seconds left to end the Gaels’ bid at a first Iolani Classic title.

“We’ll learn from that experience,” said Clatchey, whose team should advance from its national No. 36 ranking by MaxPreps.

Hansberry, who finished with a double-double, 24 points and 15 rebounds, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Farrell and Abrams were selected to the all-tournament team along with Montverde’s Kwame Evans, a Baltimore native and Oregon recruit who starred as a freshman at Poly.

“It was an awesome experience,” said Clatchey. “The people who run the Iolani Classic are amazing, the hospitality and how well the tournament is organized. It’s a first class event.”

The Gaels, who returned to Baltimore Thursday evening, will enjoy Christmas before returning to the court next week at the Governor’s Challenge at the Wicomico Civic Center.

“We’ll compete against two quality teams, said Clatchey, “much closer to home.”