If timing is everything, Bishop Chatard High School senior Derek Czarnecki seized a moment in the spotlight Thursday night.

After missing two games with a strained back, Czarnecki returned in style by hitting two momentum-swinging 3-pointers to spark the Trojans to a 66-55 victory over host Tech in the quarterfinals of the 68th boys basketball City Tournament.

Czarnecki finished with a career-high 19 points to pace three players in double figures as Chatard (10-1) advanced to a semifinal at 6 p.m. Saturday against Arlington (11-3), which provided Golden Knights coach Larry Nicks his 400th career victory with an 86-44 rout of Washington.

But it was Czarnecki who provided the night's fireworks with his 5-of-7 accuracy from 3-point range. One of the bombs, from the left corner as the third quarter expired, gave the Trojans the lead for good. When he opened the fourth quarter with another from the same spot, the game never was the same.

"My teammates did a good job of penetrating, so I was wide open," said the 6-2 Czarnecki, whose previous high was 15 points on five 3-pointers against Lafayette Jeff before missing the past two games. "Whenever I have a chance to hit a shot, I have confidence I'm going to make it.

"And when they went in, you could feel the emotion and hear the crowd getting louder and louder. It was a great feeling to be a part of."

With the Trojans trailing 43-42 late in the third quarter, the two 3-pointers proved to be the start of a 15-2 Chatard run that included two more Czarnecki 3s. It clearly was the game's turning point, according to both coaches.

"It changed the whole complexion of the game," said Tech coach Frank Craig, whose Titans (7-5) squandered a 28-point performance by 6-5 junior Anthony Young. "We play pretty well when we're ahead or close, but we have to learn to play from behind and not lose our composure."

Trojans coach Chris Quinn, whose squad received 15 points from senior Tyler Kleinschmidt and 11 from junior Michael Zimmerman, said two factors impacted the second half. First was the Trojans doing a better job on Young, who scored 20 first-half points as Tech took a 35-33 lead. Second was the lift from Czarnecki.

"He provided some huge momentum for us," Quinn said. "He's a streaky shooter, but once he hits a couple, he usually doesn't miss. Then once we got our lead to four or five points, I was confident we could sustain it and add to it, and that's what happened."

In the second game, junior reserve Aaron Weeden scored 20 points and senior starters John Freeman and Dewann Squires each had 16 as Arlington used a big second-quarter surge to blow open its game with Washington (6-7).

"It wasn't so much the score as it was our execution," said Nicks, who improved to 400-185 in his 27th season as a coach and 251-124 in his 17th year at Arlington. "I was pretty pleased with that."

Nicks, whose Knights hit 37-of-60 shots and committed just eight turnovers, downplayed his milestone.

"More than anything, it makes me think about all the kids and coaches I've worked with over the years," he said. "I've been surrounded by a lot of good people, and we've had a lot of good support."

Bishop Chatard -- J. Kennedy 2-7 0-0 6, P. Kennedy 0-1 3-5 3, T. Kleinschmidt 5-10 4-9 15, Hightower 1-2 1-2 3, Martin 2-3 0-0 4, B. Kennedy 0-3 0-0 0, Zimmerman 4-5 3-5 11, Holland 1-2 3-4 5, Czarnecki 6-9 2-2 19, D. Kleinschmidt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-43 16-27 66.

Tech -- Henderson 0-2 0-1 0, Wilson 4-7 0-0 9, Davis 2-5 0-0 4, Ash-Buck 1-6 2-3 4, Young 12-22 4-5 28, Stevens 2-2 0-0 4, White 2-5 0-2 4, Henson 1-5 0-0 2. Totals: 24-54 6-11 55.

3-point shooting -- BC 8-20 (Czarnecki 5-7, J. Kennedy 2-6, T. Kleinschmidt 1-3, D. Kleinschmidt 0-1, B. Kennedy 0-3), Tech 1-10 (Wilson 1-2, White 0-1, Henderson 0-2, Ash-Buck 0-2, Young 0-3). Rebounds -- BC 24 (T. Kleinschmidt 8), Tech 38 (Young 7). Assists -- BC 14 (T. Kleinschmidt 5), Tech 3 (Ash-Buck 1, Young 1, White 1). Turnovers -- BC 14, Tech 17. Total fouls -- BC 18, Tech 20. Fouled out -- None. Officials -- Mark Baltz, Haymon Fields, Tony Ortman.