Shamorie Ponds had a game-high 31 points, as Thomas Jefferson defeated Christ the King 68-65 in a nailbiting nightcap to the Apparel Challenge in Middle Village on Saturday. After Long Island Lutheran's unexpected lopsided win against Cardozo, a capacity crowd was treated to an action-packed showdown between two of New York City's top high school basketball programs that came down to the wire. A back-and-forth bout throughout, the game was knotted at 29 at the half and Christ the King held a slim 45-43 lead after the third, setting up a fourth quarter that was as exciting as it gets. Jose Alvarado's free throws with 1:05 remaining put Christ the King ahead 63-60 and prompted Christ the King Head Coach Joe Arbitello to call a timeout to set up his defense. On the next possession, Ponds penetrated into the lane and found Curtis Smith, who nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 63 with less than a minute left. Tracey Cleckley's put-back on the next possession gave Christ the King the lead again, 65-63, with 35 ticks left, but Jefferson came right back, with Ponds freezing the defense on a gorgeous hesitation dribble and scoring on a right-handed runner to tie the score at 65 with 27 seconds left. After two Christ the King timeouts, Smith stole Alvarado's inbounds pass and made one of two free throws after being fouled on a breakaway layup, giving Jefferson a 66-65 lead with 4.1 seconds left. Christ the King called another timeout after advancing the ball to half-court, but Ponds intercepted Alvarado's inbounds pass and, after being fouled, made two free throws to put Jefferson ahead 68-65 with just 2.7 seconds left. Christ the King had one more shot, but Tyson Walker missed a half-court heave at the buzzer, putting an end to a classic PSAL vs. CHSAA battle.