RALEIGH -- When the passes weren't connecting around the net, the Cardinal Gibbons boys lacrosse team stayed with it.

Slowly, their persistence paid off in the form of a goal just as the first quarter was 11 seconds from closing. The same scenario played in the second quarter, as the Crusaders found the net with just 15 ticks remaining on the clock. And for their unceasing efforts, things started going their way earlier and more often as they used a huge second half to defeat visiting Apex 10-6 on Tuesday night.

"We really came together like we've done in the past," Ben Huger said. "I think we had jitters at first, with it being the first game."

The game was the conference and season opener for both squads, who in the past have been non-conference rivals. Gibbons' shift from Conference 3 to Conference 2 gives the game - which Apex led 4-3 at half - even more significance.