Bishop Seabury Academy’s boys basketball players were looking for a challenge on Friday, and Veritas Christian gave them everything they could handle.

After winning three games by double digits before winter break, the Seahawks knew there would be nothing easy in a rivalry game, surviving for a 76-73 victory over Veritas at Corpus Christi.

“We needed a dog fight, and that’s what they gave us,” Seabury coach Ashley Battles said after his team improved to 4-0. Like a heavyweight prize fight that goes the distance and both sides raise their arms up at the final bell, both schools fought through the momentum swings and refused to back down.

The Eagles (6-4) rallied from a 10-point deficit with under three minutes left. Senior forward Kalim Dowdell started the spurt with a putback. More than a minute later, junior Michael Rask dropped in a floater, and senior Miles Dressler and Dowdell drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, cutting the score to 74-73 with 33 seconds remaining.

After a missed free throw by Seabury, Rask tried another floater from the middle of the paint, which bounced off of the rim and into the arms of Dressler, who was under the left side of the hoop. Dressler tried an up-and-under layup, but the ball hung on the rim for seemingly an eternity before it dropped into the arms of Seabury sophomore Thomas diZerega.

“Extremely proud of our effort,” Veritas coach Carl Huslig said. “Proud of the way we played the last three minutes. I feel like we won the game.”

The Seahawks (ranked No. 6 in Class 2A) looked unstoppable in the first quarter, drilling three-pointers over Veritas’ 1-2-2 zone defense. Sophomore point guard Zach McDermott had four of his game-high six assists in the period, while junior guard Mikey Wycoff scored nine points.

In the second quarter, Seabury slowed down the tempo after both teams combined for 44 points in the first eight minutes. Veritas took full advantage by going on a 15-3 run over a four-minute stretch. Freshman sharpshooter Trey Huslig started the run with a three, then a layup-and-the-foul bucket. Dowdell, who finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, added five points.

The Eagles led for only eight seconds in the contest, 32-30, on a three-pointer from Rask.

“Our team just competes, and sometimes I think we’re just better off when we go down 10-0,” Carl Huslig said. “What I really like about my team is we can be down no matter how much, and we’ll make a game out of it at the end.”

The Seahawks led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, using their quick guards to create driving lanes. Wycoff scored a game-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while McDermott and sophomore guard Bansi King both added 16 points each.

But the Eagles continued to fight back until their last shots in the final seconds bounced off of the rim.

“We really just hadn’t got challenged that much yet in a game of a bunch of tough kids, which Veritas was,” Battles said. “It’s a bunch of really tough kids who can put the ball in the hole. That was great for us.”

Bishop Seabury (76)

Mikey Wycoff 7-14 8-9 23, Zach McDermott 7-18 1-5 16, Thomas Uhler 5-7 0-1 10, Bansi King 6-9 0-0 16, Austin Gaumer 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas diZerega 3-4 2-2 8, Max Easter 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 29-56 11-17 76.

Veritas Christian (73)

Weston Flory 3-4 0-0 6, Chad Stieben 6-14 2-4 14, Miles Dressler 7-10 0-0 15, Kalim Dowdell 6-12 4-10 17, Mark Weinhold 1-7 0-0 2, Trey Huslig 5-10 0-1 14, Michael Rask 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 30-60 6-15 73.

Seabury 27 12 23 14 — 76

Veritas 17 19 14 23 — 73

Three-point goals: Seabury 7-18 (King 4, Wycoff, McDermott, Easter); Veritas 7-19 (Huslig 4, Dressler, Dowdell, Rask). Turnovers: Seabury 11, Veritas 19.