Behind a Jalen Adams halfcourt, bank-shot as the buzzer sounded,Cushing Academy electrified the crowd at Endicott College on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling 61-60 win over eighth-seeded St. Andrew’s (RI) School.

The shot not only crowned the Penguins 2013 NEPSAC Class AA champs, but it also gave the school its first boys basketball title since 1996 and earned Adams — who had missed the last three regular season games and first postseason contest against Brimmer & May School — tournament MVP honors.

The Shot: Trailing by two points, second-seeded Cushing made a huge defensive stop with 3.3 seconds remaining to give themselves one final chance. But the daunting task of scoring from three-quarters court still lay ahead.

Following a Penguins’ timeout, junior guard Idris Taqqeefloated a pass over the outstretched arms of a St. Andrew’s defender and into the hands of Adams. After a few dribbles with his right hand to advance the ball past halfcourt, Adams vaulted himself into the air while simultaneously lofting a high-arcing, two-handed desperation shot towards the basket that miraculously found its way off-glass and into the hoop.

The sophomore guard and Roxbury, MA-native spoke post-game about his mindset as the play developed and the emotions that overwhelmed him in its immediate aftermath.

Adams effectiveness wasn’t solely limited to the game’s final seconds. The combo guard had Cushing’s first four points and finished with a team-high 14 points. He also helped spark a late run along with 6-foot-7 senior forward Andrew Chrabascz (13 points) that brought the Saints’ double-digit lead down to a single possession with less than a minute remaining.

In Adams’ return to the starting lineup after a five-game absence — it was obvious from the outset until the final buzzer sounded — he was the difference maker for Cushing.

Country’s Best Backcourt:  Junior point guard and Nashua, NH-native Kaleb Joseph— who together with Adams form what many observers have labeled the nations premier high school guard tandem — was noticeably shocked following his running mates game winning heave.

Cushing G Kaleb Joseph Post Game Interview (Some PG-13 Language in this Sound Bite)

Joseph only had 10 points against St. Andrew’s, but perhaps his greatest contributions to the game’s outcome were by way of his leadership and stabilizing presence. When Butler signee Chrabascz picked up his fourth foul with a little more than 10 minutes to play and the Penguins trailing, it was Joseph who urged his teammates on.

Behind a dominant opening stretch to the second half by power forward Bonzie Colson(14 points) and guard Henry Bolton (11 points), St. Andrew’s rebounded from a 33-28 halftime deficit to build a three-point lead (44-41) with just under 10 minutes remaining. The run also swung the momentum in the Saints’ favor.

But Joseph was visibly unfazed as he verbally encouraged his teammates to keep plugging.

Fight to Finish: Following convincing 28 and 10 point wins in its first two postseason games, the pesky Saints presented Cushing with its biggest test.

With Chrabascz back in the game with 7:30 remaining despite having four fouls — a decision Cushing coach Barry Connors explained in his below post-game interview — the Penguins first saw their deficit swell to 55-44 with just under 4:30 left, before they started to chip away. They simply never panicked and as a result closed the game on a 17-5 tear.

Learning to Believe: During the season, Cushing suffered one-, two- and three-point losses to the likes of Kimball Union Academy, Marianapolis Preparatory School and Phillips Exeter Academy, before they finally captured their first victory in an equally tight game (two-points) over Worcester Academy on Feb. 20. In that game, the Penguins scored the decisive basket in the final 10 seconds. The win would propel Cushing to a season-ending six-game win streak — a stretch in which it played some of its most inspired basketball.

The Penguins’ first close win of the year also undoubtedly gave them the confidence and resolve necessary to pull out a win in the fashion that it did against St. Andrew’s.

 

Watch the final play - Video Courtesy: The Baskeball Diary