DURHAM — In college basketball, the traditional conclusion to the season is the schmaltzy “One Shining Moment” video.

For familiarity’s sake, it may have been a fitting anthem during the Chapel Hill boys’ lacrosse postgame celebration after the Tigers claimed another 4-A state championship Saturday night. But other songs would have summed up the moment better.

Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” comes to mind, and not just because the game fell on Chapel Hill’s prom night.

Chapel Hill played the game with 22 seniors. Their opponent, Apex, had 19. Some vital players on both teams played their final high school game, and regardless of who won, both teams will be starting anew next February.

Despite losing 12-8 at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium, the good news for Apex is the Cougars got a glimpse of their future in the process, and it looks blindingly bright.

Freshman goalkeeper Emil Weiss made 22 saves despite being pelted by 40 Chapel Hill shots. He was named the game’s defensive MVP. Against Chapel Hill’s limitless offensive depth, Weiss appeared to be the only thing keeping Apex in the game during the second half.

“He’s just something else,” said Apex coach John Hayden, whose team finished the season 19-4, with two losses coming to Chapel Hill. “He seems unfazed by the whole thing. He’s playing in the state championship game and at halftime he was smiling like he was playing in a sandbox.”

In last year’s state championship game, Chapel Hill got off to a slow start against Charlotte Providence, then scored 10 consecutive goals on its way to a 16-6 romp. This year, the Tigers never got more than three straight goals, due mainly to Weiss’ work in net.

While Chapel Hill averaged 14 goals per game this season, they won the state championship with defense. Apex bolted out to a 2-0 lead after goals by seniors Joe Nugent and Parker Wilson and finished the first quarter with tallies from Connor Tyo and Will Doyle to take a 4-3 lead. But they scored only four more times the rest of the game. Apex was limited to 27 shots, 13 of which were stopped by Chapel Hill goalkeeper Ryan Montgomery.

“I never really got the sense that we were out of this game,” said Hayden, whose Apex team won the state championship in 2005, the last time a non-Chapel Hill school claimed the crown. “Our defense played well and we had some good looks at the goal late in the game. We just needed a few more possessions, but we couldn’t get them.”

The toughest part of Apex’s future is how it will replace some major offensive weapons who are graduating. Senior co-captains Wilson (who will play college lacrosse at Sacred Heart in Connecticut) and Nugent (UNC-Wilmington) are both graduating, as is midfielder Kane Ateshian, defenseman Drew Kearns and attacker Will Doyle.

However, worrying about next season is for another time.

“This season was a lot of fun,” said Hayden. “These kids were all so very talented and I’m proud of them.”