JAMESTOWN — There are no moral victories come playoffs — you lose and you’re done.

But No. 6 Ellicottville nearly pulled off an unlikely win against No. 2 Global Concepts on Tuesday.

The Gators led by as many as 14, but the Eagles never went away, as Global Concepts won their Section VI Class C semifinal 56-50 at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex.

“They fight. Every year you coach, you remember something about your team. With this group, I’ll remember the fight,” Ellicottville head coach Dave McCann said. “There were multiple games this year where we were down double figures … they just battled.”

Seeking the first sectional crown in program history, the Gators will take on No. 4 Westfield at 4 p.m. Saturday back at JCC. The Wolverines upset No. 1 Wilson 40-30 in Tuesday’s first semifinal.

Trailing by 12 late, Ellicottville’s Blake Smith hit a midrange jumper to make it a 10-point game. After Global Concepts missed a pair of free throws, the Eagles’ Cameron Mendell hit a 3-pointer to make it a seven-point game with 1:17 remaining.

“We were able to play a pretty good basketball game in the second half,” McCann said.

After the Gators went 1 of 2 at the foul line, Ellicottville had a chance to close within six or even five, but turned the ball over.

Global Concepts’ Jose Castro Jr. followed with a pair of free throws — he finished the night with 18 points — before Rylan Benjamin hit a 3-pointer to pull the Eagles back within seven.

The Gators then missed another two free throws, but Josiah Clay grabbed the offensive rebound, was fouled, and converted a free throw. After each team turned the ball over, Benjmain hit another 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds remaining to make it 55-50.

Eric Davis Jr., who finished with a team-high 20 points for Global Concepts, then made a foul shot before Ellicottville committed its 25th turnover of the night to end the game.

“We needed some shots to start falling earlier,” McCann said. “We had some good looks, but when we’re struggling to get shots in the first half because of the turnovers … it just puts a little more pressure on each shot that you take.”

Davis scored 9 points during a 20-12 first quarter while he and Castro each scored 6 during a 15-12 second quarter that left the Gators with an 11-point lead at halftime.

“Coming in, I knew the question was going to be how long would it take us to catch up to the speed. Is it going to take us a half? If it took us a half we were going to be in trouble,” McCann said. ” … I thought it took us the first couple of minutes. After a timeout, I felt like we came back and played a little more composed.”

Global Concepts’ lead grew to 14 late in the third quarter, but AJ Myers and Benjamin each scored in the closing seconds of the period to keep the Eagles within striking distance entering the final eight minutes.

Unfortunately, the gap was too much to overcome.

“Along the course of this season, we really worked at becoming a team. A lot of that was led by our seniors,” McCann said. “The last few weeks have been a lot of fun during this playoff run.”

NOTES: Smith had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists; Benjamin had 12 points; and Myers had 11 points, six steals and five assists for Ellicottville, which shot 20 of 40 from the field, including 7 of 16 from 3-point range. … Global Concepts shot 20 of 48 from the field, including 3 of 15 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 18 times.

ELLICOTTVILLE (50)

Benjamin 5 0 12, Myers 4 1 11, Wilson 0 0 0, Mendell 1 0 , Smith 7 0 16, Johnson 2 2 6, John 0 0 0, Polino 1 0 2. Totals 20 3 50.

GLOBAL CONCEPTS (56)

Castro Jr. 6 4 18, Clay 2 1 5, Mills 1 0 3, Bennefield 2 0 4, Davis Jr. 8 4 20, Pagan 1 4 6, Soto 0 0 0, Balde 0 0 0. Totals 20 13 56.

3-point goals–Benjamin 2, Myers 2, Mendell, Smith 2,Castro Jr., Mills.

Global Concepts 20 15 9 12 — 56

Ellicottville 12 12 10 16 — 50