Led by 6-foot-6 sophomores Tim Crawford and Gerry Wixted, the third-seeded Irish upset second-seeded Paul VI, 53-47, before a roaring sellout crown at the losers' gym.

Wixted scored seven of his game-high 17 points in an 18-12 fourth-quarter that enabled Camden Catholic to gradually pull away from a 35-35 tie and advance into Tuesday's 7 p.m. sectional final against top-seeded Holy Spirit at Jackson Liberty.

Paul VI, No. 1 in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings, had its 25-game winning streak snapped and finished its superb season with a 26-2 record.

Sixth-ranked Camden Catholic (23-5) had dropped 54-39 and 51-46 decisions to Paul VI in the regular season.

"The first time we played them, we didn't really believe in ourselves," said Wixted, who pulled down eight rebounds and was 7 for 14 from the floor yesterday. "The second time, we believed, but we didn't catch the breaks. This time, we really believed we could beat them. Coach tells us we're getting better all year."

The coach is Jim Crawford, Tim Crawford's uncle.

"Coach helped us with films and showed us how we could beat them," said Tim Crawford, who was 5 for 7 from the floor and finished with a game-high 15 rebounds. "When they went with their extended 2-3 [zone defense], we went with our triangle set to get easy shots."

In that offensive setup, Camden Catholic had a guard and two wing players, as well as a player at the foul line and another on the baseline.

The Irish, who frequently made 10 to 15 passes before shooting, got lots of high-percentage shots, and they were 20 for 43 (46.6 percent) from the floor, including 6 for 10 in the telltale final quarter.

"I think we should have played at our tempo," said Paul VI forward Jon Grimes, a 5-11 senior who scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds while battling Camden Catholic's taller inside players. "We're good at pushing the ball up court, but we played into their hands today."

The Irish's matchup zone did not allow explosive senior point guard Will Campbell (16 points) to take over the game. Campbell, who was averaging nearly 23 points per game, shot 4 for 14.

Paul VI committed just two first-half turnovers but was guilty of nine second-half miscues, and that proved critical.

With Paul VI holding a 40-39 lead midway through the final quarter, a 12-2 Camden Catholic run gave the Irish Catholic a 51-42 lead with a little under a minute left.

Despite the loss and a cold-shooting fourth quarter (3 for 19), it was a magical season for Paul VI, which won the Olympic National crown.

"This is a unique group," Paul VI coach Tony Devlin said. "They came to battle every day, and they were nice to be around."

"It'll hurt all of us for a while, but I'm proud of what we accomplished."

Camden Catholic 11 11 13 18 - 53

Paul VI 13 10 12 12 - 47

CC: Jahseer Bronson 12, Gerry Wixted 17, Tim Crawford 15, Mike McElhatton 4, Anthony D'Orazio 5.

P: Will Campbell 16, Jon Grimes 10, Nick Moore 7, Mike Stafford 9, Robert Poole 5.

or scarchidi@phillynews.com.