Though a young group that took all kinds of early hits, the Christian Brothers Academy boys lacrosse team hung in there — and in the last days of the regular season earned a trip back to the Section III Class C playoffs. The Brothers’ clincher came in last Tuesday’s trip to Westhill. With superb defense and hot work in goal from Jake Stephens, CBA beat the Warriors 7-4. Confident from the start, the Brothers led 2-1 when, starting in the second quarter, it put the defensive clamps on Westhill, not allowing anything until the final period. When CBA’s back-line players, all of them underclassmen, were not frustrating Westhill stars like Tris Nicola (no points on the night), Stephens was taking away possible goals, earning 16 saves, more than twice the total of Warrior counterpart Mark McAnaney. Meanwhile, the Brothers built its margin through a two-pronged attack. Jared DePalma scored four times, adding an assist as Joe Dolfo got a pair of goals. Freshman Cody Radziewicz had the other goal as Shane Murphy added an assist.