EDINBORO — The magic ran out.

The charmed playoff life the Grove City High School boys basketball team enjoyed over the last two weeks came to an abrupt end Tuesday night.

And a familiar face was to blame.

General McLane, a team full of players who are friends with the Eagles, overcame a sluggish start and a near late collapse to close one of the most successful seasons in Grove City history with a 56-49 win in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals at Edinboro University's McComb Field House.

"We had an incredible run," said Grove City coach Don Fee, who watched his team win three state playoff games in overtime. "It was so much fun. No matter how far you go, you always want one more."

But the Eagles will not get one more, and neither will the six seniors on the roster.

Grove City (26-5) started fast, building a 7-2 lead by taking advantage of a 2-of-10 shooting start by the Lancers.

General McLane (26-4) overcame the slow start, stormed ahead 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.

The Lancers built a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles cut it to three with less than a minute remaining in the game.

It looked like a repeat of playoff games past.

"I thought maybe the magic was coming again," Fee said.

But General McLane guards Bobby Stauffer and Drew Astorino, thorns in the Eagles' sides for most of the game with their quickness and outside shooting, hit four free throws, and Shawn Walker grabbed some key defensive rebounds to end the rally.

Walker finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Lancers. Astorino and Stauffer each finished with 11 points.

"Shawn is a fabulous player," said GeneralMcLane coach Andy Schulz. "He has a great disposition to him. He doesn't get flustered or frustrated. He just goes to work."

Walker was 10-of-10 from the floor for 21 points in the team's last meeting in the District 10 title game. The Lancers won that game by 21 points.

This one was much, much closer.

"We went down fighting against a quality club," Fee said. "The kids got the most out of themselves. They were just a little more than we could handle tonight."

The players know each other quite well. Grove City senior Jordan Fee and Astorino were born one day apart at the same hospital. The families used to live across the street from one another.

"I bathed Drew Astorino before his dad did. That's a fact," Don Fee said. "We were best friends and we still are."

It made the game a little tougher for both coaches.

"I was more nervous tonight and worried about this game than any other I have coached," Schulz said. "Donny is such a good friend of mine. The kids on these teams are such good friends. I don't want to see anyone heartbroken, but that's just the nature of sports."

It was also the end of Jordan Fee's career at the school. He scored more than 1,000 points in his career and is entertaining numerous college offers from Division I and Division II schools.

It made the loss even tougher on Don Fee.

"Every dad's dream is to take their kids to (the state title game)," Don Fee said, choking back the tears. "It makes it tough. I thought we were going to get there."

Jordan Fee will likely make his college decision soon. That decision also could affect his dad's future, too.

Don Fee is unsure of whether he will return for an 18th season.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," DonFee said. "I tentatively plan on coming back and coaching. I'm not sure. I'm going to step back and see where (Jordan) goes to school. If he's somewhere near, then I'll probably still coach. But if he's five or six hours away, I don't know."

If this was Don Fee's last year of coaching, he's going out in style.

The 26 wins were the most in school history and it was the longest playoff march since the 1971-72 season.

GENERAL McLANE 56Drew Astorino 4-13 2-5 11, Dan Skelton 2-3 0-0 4, Bobby Stauffer 3-14 4-4 11, Shawn Walker 7-10 3-3 17, Kelley Ponsoll 1-3 0-0 3, Blidi Wreh-Wilson 1-4 0-0 3, Steve Roach 3-5 1-4 7, Bryan Lowther 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Mulligan 0-0 0-0 0.

Totals: 21-52 10-16 56GROVE CITY 49Jordan Fee 3-13 1-2 8, Maxx Stutz 3-7 0-1 6, Ben Liebling 3-5 0-1 8, Danny Keil 6-11 4-7 16, Kyle Perrine 4-12 1-1 11, Keith Donaldson 0-3 0-0 0.

Totals: 19-51 6-12 49

General McLane 15 14 8 19—56Grove City 12 11 7 19—493-point goals: General McLane 4 (Astorino, Stauffer, Ponsoll, Wreh-Wilson); Grove City 5 (Fee, Liebling 2, Perrine 2)