Staff photo / Dan Hiner Canfield’s Jace Riccardo (23) goes up for a layup during the second quarter of Thursday’s Division IV regional semifinal against Cleveland Central Catholic at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

CANTON — The Canfield boys basketball team was centimeters away from forcing overtime, but the ball rolled out of the hoop. The putback was slightly right, and the buzzer sounded as it fell to the floor.

The Cardinals fell to Cleveland Central Catholic 54-52 in a Division IV regional semifinal at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse, ending their season.

“I’m not ready to get that emotional, and the truth is, kids aren’t listening in that moment. There’s too much emotion,” Canfield head coach Andy Vlajkovich said. “So we’re gonna talk at breakfast on Saturday.”

Canfield (22-4) held a 12-8 lead with a minute to play in the first after Grant Seachrist converted an and-1. But the Ironmen started putting up points in the second quarter.

Cleveland Central Catholic trimmed the Cardinals’ lead to 19-18 with three minutes left in the half. But a 4-for-4 effort from the free-throw line and layups by Jace Riccardo and Bryce Roberts helped the Cardinals take a 27-24 lead into the break.

CCC (18-7) took a 35-34 lead with 3:36 left in the third quarter after Marquis Foster Jr. drilled a 3-pointer, forcing Vlajkovich to call a timeout. And by the end of the third, the Ironmen held a 40-39 lead.

Riccardo accounted for the Cardinals’ first five points of the fourth quarter. But a steal and layup by Foster tied the game at 52 with just over 2:30 remaining.

The Ironmen had the ball with 1:30 to play. They held it until a Canfield foul was called with 53.6 seconds left after the Cardinals played back. That same sequence happened two more times before Canfield went over the limit.

With 3.6 seconds left, Donovan Driscal stepped to the line for the Ironmen and gave them a 54-52 lead with two free throws.

Canfield got the ball down the court on a long throw-in, but the Cardinals missed a layup and a putback as the buzzer sounded.

Riccardo led all scorers with 22 points. Seachrist added 10, Joey Gabriel put up seven and Donnie Ferko and Roberts each scored four.

For the Ironmen, Michael Duncan led the team with 20 points. Driscal finished with 17, and Foster tallied 13.

“(Seniors Landon Shina and Roberts) gave our program everything they have,” Vlajkovich said. “It’s our job as a program and as a staff to take care of those seniors tonight. They’re absolutely crushed, and when you play in this program, there’s a level of emotional commitment that all of our guys put in. And when something like this happens, it’s devastating. My heart breaks for those two.”

Shina and Roberts played key roles for the Cardinals over the last several years. Shina did a lot of the dirty work in the post and stepped up in key games as a scorer, and Roberts developed into a go-to scorer and someone who understood the offense and how to run it.

“Absolute culture guys. Absolute team-first guys,” Vlajkovich said of his senior duo. “… I can’t even put into words what those two mean to our program. And I know this time of year, a lot of coaches talk about great kids, great kids, great kids. No, no, no. That’s a whole different level, those two.

“They represent and embody everything that’s right with our program and also gave everything.”