St. Francis Prep takes B/Q crown in 57-56 thriller

A tip-in by Latiek Briscoe with 30 ticks left proved to be the game-winner for St. Francis Prep, as the Terriers edged Xaverian 57-56 in a thrilling CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens final in Fresh Meadows, Queens on Friday night.

Xaverian held for the last shot, but Nick Folk's runner rolled out and two Clipper putback attempts missed the mark as time expired. 

After going punch-for-punch throughout the first half, St. Francis Prep took a 28-25 lead at the break before Xaverian went on a sizzling 16-2 run to open the third, taking their largest lead of the game at 41-30 on a 3-pointer by Billy Reyes with 4:35 to play in the third quarter.

St. Francis Prep was able to narrow the margin to 49-43 heading into the fourth, in large part due to three triples in the third frame, two by Chance Morrish and one by Becir Hot. 

The Terriers opened the fourth on a 6-0 run, with the crowd erupting after another 3-pointer by Hot knotted the score at 49 with 5:45 to play. 

Xaverian missed chances to build a cushion by misfiring on four consecutive free throws, but the Clippers still took a 52-49 lead on an off-balance runner by Folk at the 3:55 mark.

Two free throws by Briscoe made it a one-point game at 52-51 with 3:03 to play, but Jaden Pena scored the next four, converting a shovel pass from Ian Byrne in the paint and sinking two from the stripe, and the Clippers suddenly had themselves a 56-51 lead with just 2:24 left.

Todd Rochelle's drive through the lane made it a one possession game at 56-53 with under 2:00 remaining, and St. Francis Prep regained possession when Folk was whistled for a critical charging foul with 1:38 left.

SFP pulled back within a point when Key'Sean Maynard's putback made it 56-55, and Xaverian called for time after advancing the ball into the frontcourt with 1:03 on the clock.

The Clippers came up empty on the trip, and St. Francis Prep took possession with a chance to take the lead, with the capacity home crowd fully engaged.

Rochelle's pull-up jumper from the elbow bounced out, but Briscoe swooped in for the tip-in, with Xaverian calling a timeout, now trailing 57-56 with 28.9 seconds left.

Shawn Fulcher held his dribble near half-court until the clock reached 8.5 seconds, and Xaverian called another timeout to huddle for the last shot.

Folk dribbled into the lane and got off a good looking floater, but the shot bounced out and two putback chances missed as time expired, sending the Terriers into a celebration near midcourt.

Briscoe finished with 16 points, while Jonathan Medley scored 12 and Morrish 10 for St. Francis Prep.

Folk scored a game-high 18 points for Xaverian.  

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