LAST H.S. GAME

ROUGH RIDERS GET OT VICTORY

BY MIKE CANDEL

    ROOSEVELT HAS A BASKETBALL TEAM THAT RENDERS STATISTICS MEANINGLESS.  A TEAM WHOSE SUCCESS LIES IN AN UNUSUAL TEAM CHEMISTRY.

    "YOU CAN'T DEFINE IT," SAID ROOSEVELT ASSISTANT COACH TOM HAMMOND.  "YOU KNOW IT WHEN YOU SEE IT."

    THE SPECTATORS AT NASSAU COMMUNITY COLLEGE SAW IT YESTERDAY WHEN DAMON SESSION'S BASKET WITH EIGHT SECONDS LEFT IN OVERTIME ENABLED ROOSEVELT TO BEAT WESTBURY, 70-68, FOR THE NASSAU CLASS B TITLE.

    YESTERDAY'S PERFORMANCE CAPPED A REMARKABLE SEASON FOR A TEAM EXPECTED TO GO NOWHERE.  ROOSEVELT (19-4) NOT ONLY WON ITS THIRD CLASS B TITLE IN SIX YEARS--STARTING WITH A LINEUP WITH JUST ONE PLAYER (6-4 TODD HARDY) TALLER THAN 6-0--IT BEAT POWERS HEMPSTEAD, FREEPORT, WESTBURY, MALVERNE, LONG BEACH, AND SOUTHSIDE ALONG THE WAY.  "THAT MAKES US THE TRUE COUNTY CHAMPION," SAID HEAD COACH MORRIS BRANDON.  ROOSEVELT PLAYS JOHN GLENN IN A STATE-PLAYOFF GAME WEDNESDAY AT 6 P.M. AT NASSAU CC.

    WESTBURY DID NOT LOSE THE CLASS B CHAMPIONSHIP, ROOSEVELT WON IT.  THE GREEN DRAGONS (18-6) WERE SUPERB, ESPECIALLY 5-9 GUARD MICHAEL JACKSON, WHO SCORED 32 POINTS INCLUDING 5 THREE-POINTERS. 

    "THE OTHER MICHAEL JACKSON DANCED ON TELEVISION LAST NIGHT," SAID WESTBURY COACH MARTIN REID.  "OUR MICHAEL JACKSON DANCED ON THE COURT TODAY."

    THE TEMPO WAS SET ONE MINUTE INTO THE FIRST QUARTER.  WESTBURY SCORED FIRST ON LEONARD TAYLOR'S FREE THROW, THEN ROOSEVELT WENT AHEAD ON BRIAN CHIN'S LAYUP.  THE LEAD WOULD CHANGE HANDS 15 TIMES BY HALFTIME WITH ROOSEVELT AHEAD, 37-33.

    THE ROUGH RIDERS INCREASED THE MARGIN TO 49-42 IN THE THIRD PERIOD BUT A 7-0 RUN, CAPPED BY A JACKSON THREE-POINTER, TIED THE SCORE AT 49 ENTERING THE FOURTH PERIOD.

    WESTBURY SEEMED ON THE VERGE OF WINNING WHEN EDWIN REDD FED JOHNNY BUSH FOR A LAYUP AND A 63-59 LEAD WITH 17 SECONDS IN THE GAME.

    "WITH ANY OTHER GROUP OF KIDS," SAID BRANDON, "I'D SAY IT WAS OVER.  NOT THESE KIDS.  THEY NEVER, EVER QUIT."

    WESTBURY STILL LED BY TWO AFTERROOSEVELT'S ERIC HILL PUT IN A TURNAROUND SHOT.  BUT WHEN REDD MISSED THE FRONT END OF A ONE-AND-ONE WITH SIX SECONDS LEFT, ROOSEVELT'S HARDY GRABBED THE REBOUND AND PASSED TO KEN SQUIRES, WHO RACED UPCOURT AND FED THE 5-7 CHIN IN THE RIGHT CORNER.

    CHIN CAUGHT THE BALL WITH TWO SECONDS LEFT AND LAUNCHED A SHOT OVER THE 6-5 BUSH.  "I JUST LET IT GO AND PRAYED," SAID CHIN.  THE BALL DROPPED THROUGH THE BASKET AS THE BUZZER SOUNDED, TYING THE SCORE AT 63 AND FORCING OVERTIME.

    THEREAFTER, IT WAS THE JACKSON AND SESSIONS SHOW.  JACKSON'S DRIVE PUT WESTBURY AHEAD 65-63.  SESSIONS ANSWERED WITH A PASS TO CHIN FOR A LAYUP.  JACKSON PUT IN A THREE-POINTER FROM THE RIGHT SIDE WITH 1:25.  SESSIONS ANSWERED WITH A THREE-POINTER FROM THE LEFT SIDE WITH 1:08 REMAINING.

    ROOSEVELT GOT THE BREAK IT NEEDED WHEN HARDY STOLE THE BALL FROM JAMES KNIGHT WITH 43 SCONDS LEFT.  AFTER A TIMEOUT, THE ROUGH RIDERS TRIED HOLDING THE BALL FOR THE LAST SHOT, BUT WITH 11 SECONDS LEFT, SESSIONS WAS TRAPPED IN THE LEFT CORNER.

    "IT WAS A LITTLE EARLY TO SHOOT," SAID SESSIONS, "BUT I GOT THROUGH THE DOUBLE-TEAM, AND THERE WAS NO ONE BETWEEN ME AND THE BASKET."

    SESSIONS DRIBBLED TWICE AND SOARED FOR THE GAME-WINNER.  SOON, THERE WAS PANDEMONIUM.

ROOSEVELT-------------- 18  19  12  14  7  --  70

WESTBURY--------------- 20  13  16  14  5  --  68

ROOSEVELT: CHIN 9-0-18, SESSIONS 5-3-14, HILL 4-1-9, SQUIRES 4-1-9, HARDY 7-6-20, TOTALS: 29-11-70.  

WESTBURY: TAYLOR 6-2-14, BUSH 5-0-10, JACKSON 12-3-32, KNIGHT 5-0-10, HOOKS 1-0-2

TOTALS: 29-5-68.

THREE-POINT GOALS: ROOSEVELT 1 (SESSIONS); WESTBURY 5 (JACKSON)