NYC Finest falls short as shot falls off

It was quite a summer in southeastern Queens for NYC Finest. They went undefeated in the regular season of the I.S. 8 Summer Basketball League, advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time there, and reached the title game at the prestigious A.A.U. tournament in Jamaica.
To get there, they toppled Team Odom, the borough's rising program that includes many of the top Catholic League and Public School players. That triumph, however, could not get them their first title, as the Queens Village-based program fell short, losing to the Long Island Lightning, 70-69, when point guard Akeem Brightman's half-court heave at the buzzer rimmed out. &#8220I really thought it was going to drop,” he said. &#8220It's just a disappointment. We wanted [the I.S. 8 title] for so long.”
NYC Finest was in control at halftime, leading by nine. They even had a double-digit lead at one point, but a 14-4 Lightning spurt squared the game. &#8220We just got tired and lost focus,” NYC Finest Coach Tyrone Hester said. &#8220They caused turnovers and we didn't take care of the ball.”
The Lightning would lead the rest of the way, but NYC Finest twice got within one point late. Brightman, the August Martin guard who finished with nine points, even had a chance to give them the lead with under a minute to go but his runner came up short. After a series of missed free throws by the Lightning, he almost pulled off the unthinkable. The Lightning were led by co-MVP's James Wilson and Quincy Hawkins. Hawkins scored a game-high 21 points while Wilson chipped in with 13 points.
Still, it was a significant accomplishment for NYC Finest to reach the final. &#8220We had a good season and just came up short,” Hester said. &#8220There are a lot of teams that don't make it this far. It's a big step for us to make it here.”
So was their improved roster, one that included James Southerland (14 points), the talented Cardozo forward; 6-foot-7 center Chris Abney (12 points), who is in the process of transferring from Christ the King; and Holy Cross point guard Trinity Fields - all of whom usually play with the Manhattan-based Metro Hawks, one of the premier programs in the tri-state area.