Sunday, March 29, 2015: Wings boys, LuHi girls earn Federation 'AA' titles

   Leading off today: Down 10 points in the middle of the fourth quarter against the two-time defending state champion isn't where any boys basketball team wants to be.

   "We just dug down deep," Wings forward Jessie Govan, a Georgetown recruit, told The Daily News. "We didn't want to go home the last loser."

   From that point forward, Wings soared. Trailing 62-51 at the start of the fourth quarter in the boys Federation Class AA championship game Saturday at SUNY Albany, Wings rode an 18-2 burst and won 79-73.

   Efrain DeJesus (16 points), a senior guard, hit one of his five 3-pointers to cut the Royals lead to 64-59. Kevin Saylor tied the game with a drive to the basket with 3:07 remaining and Desure Buie put Wings ahead for good at 67-64 with a 3-pointer with 2:28 to go, Later Wings would pick up a crucial basket when Desure Buie found Govan for a slam to increase the edge to 74-69 with :32 left.

   "They shot the ball really well those last five minutes. The seniors did what they were supposed to do. Basketball is funny," Royals coach Joe Arbitello told MSG Varsity. "Yesterday they couldn’t make a 3. Today they were on fire. That's basketball."

   Govan and Christ the King junior Rawle Alkins scored 24 points apiece in the showcase game of the weekend, which turned so decisively down the stretch.

   "It happened so fast that I didn't even know what was going on," Alkins admitted.

   LuHi girls win: Long Island Lutheran made it three straight Federation titles, the last two in Class AA, by downing Christ the King 66-52.

   A day after fouling out in the semifinals, Taylor Byrne came up huge for the Crusaders with 15 points and 14 rebounds to complement Boogie Brozoski's 24 points and eight rebounds.

   "This is more than incredible," Byrne told MSG Varsity.

   Christ the King led 27-26 at the half, but Brozoski scored five straight points in a 7-0 run and Byrne converted a three-point play to make it 44-35 in the third quarter. From there, the Royals, who were led by Dominique Toussaint (18 points) got no closer than five points. Brozoski, who heads to the University of Michigan with four Federation championships on her resume, made seven fourth-quarter free throws and 12 of 14 for the night, to keep LuHi safely in front.

   Another Canisius title: Canisius now has a Federation basketball championship to go along with last fall's state CHSFL football title and this month's CHSFL hockey crown.    The Crusaders edged Albany Academy 48-44 in the Class A final as Josh Huffman scored 16 points and tournament MVP LaTerrance Reed added 14.

2015 Federation basketball schedule 2015 NYSPHSAA boys basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA girls basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA boys hockey brackets N.Y. wrestling championships (PDF): Div. I | Div. II N.Y. indoor track championships: Boys | Girls

   "It feels ridiculous," Crusaders junior Stafford Trueheart told The Buffalo News. "It's an unreal feeling."

   Both teams struggled to score throughout, and the Crusaders held Albany Academy to 24 percent shooting for the game while hitting just 28 percent themselves. Canisius led 22-16 at the half and the Huffman scored six points in the third quarter to help get the margin to 28-20.

   The Crusaders led 35-27 early in the fourth quarter after a putback by T.J. Wheatley, and a Huffman 3-pointer later made it 44-32 with 4:11 left.

   "This is the best sporting year I've had in my entire life," said Wheatley, the state Class AA football player of the year. "This is what I came back for."

   Quite the comeback: Trailing by 18 points in the second quarter, PSAL Class B champion Maspeth edged Dwight School 51-50 in the semifinals.

   After falling behind 10-2, the Argonauts tied the game at 12-12 at the beginning of the second quarter only to see the Lions take over with an 18-0 spurt that led to a 35-19 halftime lead.

   "I felt like we were down as a team at the end of the first half," said Maspeth junior Tamer Tamer, who scored 14 points. "We've worked so hard for this and we can't end it now. Our goal coming to Albany was not for a fun trip; we're here to do business and win the state championship."