Lake Travis is not in the business of moral victories, that much has been established.

But if there were ever a case for a loss actually being a victory, one could point to the Cavalier basketball team’s overtime loss to Lancaster Thursday night at the Frank Erwin Center.

“I think going into this game, maybe two percent were picking Lake Travis,” Lake Travis senior point guard David Eads said in the post game press conference. He was flanked by senior teammates Cole Vucurevich, Zach Karczewski and head coach Jan Jernberg, “We were supposed to get run out of the gym. I think we played well, and to lose the way we did was tough, but I’m so proud to have these guys as teammates, proud to have this guy as a coach and proud to represent Lake Travis.”

It was the school’s first trip to the state tournament, just one year after a team that was arguably better, was one shot away from doing the same.

The Cavaliers were not the overwhelming favorites in Region IV, despite the highest state ranking in that region going into the playoffs. They had the least depth of any of the teams in the 4A final four, and had three of five playoff games come down to the final minute before reaching the Erwin Center.

“Range of emotions is an understatement,” Eads said. “I think going into the year we were picked either second or third in our district. We lost some really good players from last year. We had a lot of people that didn’t think we were going to be that good this year and I think we overachieved as a team. To get to this point, and do something that’s never been done in school history is quite an achievement.”

It wasn’t just a basketball achievement, either. As far as team sports in a playoff tournament setting, this basketball team was just the fifth in Lake Travis history to make it to the final four, behind two runs by girls’ soccer and two runs by volleyball.

With a lack of championship experience, while playing in front of the biggest crowd they’d ever played in front of, the Cavaliers hardly wilted. They rose to the occasion.

“We had a game plan and we ran it to perfection,” Jernberg said. “We did everything we could against them and I think we did it tremendously.”

They just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, and that’s when Lancaster finally woke up.

“Basketball is a game of runs, and they had the biggest one in the fourth quarter,” Karczewski said.

“We did what we were supposed to do, and they did what they needed to,” Jernberg said. “We won the regional quarterfinal against LBJ in the way that Lancaster won tonight. We were desperate men then and needed to make desperate moves, and they were in that position tonight. They sucked it up and made it happen. We just came up a little bit short.”

And there were moments that, looking back, were tough to swallow. A few missed layups, a couple bad passes and a few missed free throws (though it’s worth noting that after a season of shooting 60 percent from the charity stripe, the Cavaliers shot 70 percent in the loss).

And despite being in a tough spot, with two free throws to go ahead with under five seconds left, Vucurevich and his head coach kept the situation in perspective. Not easy when you miss the first free throw.

“It’s tough when you miss a shot like that,” Jernberg said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of him, to step up after it, in front of 12,000 people and make it to give us a chance to continue. That’s a tremendous amount of pressure.”

It wasn’t a Cinderella story. The Cavaliers didn’t slay the dragon. But they stood tall next to the best basketball teams in the state, showed they could play with anyone and made the trip count.

“It’s been a fun four years and I wish I could have a fifth year with a coach like this,” Eads said. “But he’ll be around for 25 more years and he’ll make it to a few more state tournaments.”

Jernberg may not be around for quite that long, but the bar has been set. Lake Travis teams can make it to the final four in boys’ basketball. Half the battle is just getting that belief established.

And with that, there’s a victory in the loss.