The Family Falcons Beat Livingston Manor Wildcat’s 55-53 In Last Minute Thriller
By Henry W. and Christian H.
There were three seconds left on the clock when Falcons’ center, Khalfani M., took an inbound pass and sank it for a 55-53 over Varsity Livingston Manor.
Khalfani had 19 rebounds and a total of 17 points. “It was one of the happiest moments of my stay here. I love everyone on the basketball team,” exclaimed an ecstatic Khalfani.
The hard fought match on January 13 added a win to the Falcons’ undefeated league record as the Wildcats faced their first league loss.
Poor defense and rushed passes found the Falcons down 14-12 when the first quarter came to an end. By halftime, the Wildcats had taken a five point lead.
Coach Ted Towsley and Assistant Coach Larry Patrisso explained to the Falcons what had to be done in order to win the game.
“I was irritated with the team’s performance, but I had faith that we would play better in the second half,” said the Falcons’ shooting guard, Patrick C. And Pat was right.
The Falcons brought an incredible level of energy to the second half of the game.
The scoreboard read 24-29 as the third quarter began. The Wildcats scored 13 points while the Falcons recovered with 17.
The Wildcats were still ahead 42-41 in the fourth quarter. Manor’s lead scorer, Troy Correa, who had a total of 16 points, helped them stay in the game.
Handling the Wildcats’ pressure well and turning up their game, the Falcons worked on their offense and scored another 12 points to tie the game at 53-53. There was no time to lose.
At this point, the crowd was going wild. The majority of the fans were standing up and screaming at the top of their lungs. The fan’s energy and intensity was the support that helped the Falcons win the game.
The Falcons forced a turnover on their opponents with 12 seconds remaining. Without hesitating, Coaches Towsley and Patrisso called for a timeout to draw out the final play. The Falcons inbounded the ball and ran the play.
As the clock wore down to three seconds, the Falcons scored the last basket of the game.
“Words can’t express the emotion and intensity that we felt in the gym that night,” said the Falcons’ point guard, Christian H.
Falcons’ power forward and leading scorer, Danny R., had a total of 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Another eight points were contributed to the team by Falcons’ small forward Austin C. “I have never played in a more exciting game in my life,” stated Austin.
Both the Wildcats and Falcons had a total of 13 fouls by the end of the game.
