By Chuck Stewart, Jr.
West Point - Saturday’s game between Newburgh Free Academy and Mount Vernon has been a year in the making.
Last year, NFA beat Mt. Vernon on a William Bouton, buzzer-beating 55-foot shot in the quarterfinals. This time Newburgh wanted to prove last year’s win wasn’t a fluke. William Bouton said, "We wanted to show everybody that it wasn’t luck that beat them last year."
Newburgh was first to score and continued to dominate the offensive boards. Michael McLeod posted 14 points in the first half, which helped Newburgh take a 39-28 halftime lead.
By the third quarter, the defending state champs led by as many as 15 points. But Mount Vernon didn’t give up and narrowed that lead to four.
The Goldbacks struggled in the last few minuets of the game. The momentum had shifted to Mt. Vernon. At this point it was anybody’s game. It was a matter of who wanted it more. NFA coach Frank Dinnocenzio called a time out to regroup his players.
More than 4,000 fans were on the edge of their seats in Christl Arena waiting to see how this game was going to end.
Moments later, point guard Marcus Henderson had the ball in his hands. He pulled up a few feet behind the top of the key and let it fly-swish, nothing but net. The crowd went crazy. That shot was the final shift in momentum, from which Mt. Vernon would not recover. Newburgh went on to win 62-53.
"That 3-pointer at the end took all the air out of them," NFA head coach Frank Dinnocenzio said of Henderson’s three-pointer.
Mike McLeod led Newburgh with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Devon McMillan had 12 points and Damon Cousar and Patrick Johnson each scored eight points for the Goldbacks.
Newburgh, just two victories away from a second straight title, now moves into the state semifinals. They will play Christian Brothers Academy at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center. If Newburgh wins, they will play on Sunday, March 21 at 2:45 p.m. for the title.
