On this day seven years ago…

Just one day removed from a thrilling 57-54 win over Cold Spring Harbor, the boys basketball team won the 5th Annual Seahawks Pre-Holiday Tournament with a 50-48 victory against Class AA Patchogue-Medford. The Bears’ prospects of winning the tournament championship seemed severely damaged as they fell behind 2-14 after one quarter. The Blue and White offense found their stride in the second quarter, outscoring the Raiders 15-13, but went into the break still trailing by 10.

In a game-changing third quarter, the Brook used their staunch defense, bolstered by an aggressive press, to outscore Pat-Med 19-8 and take a 1-point lead going into the pivotal final quarter. Momentum oscillated in the final frame and the game stood knotted at 48-48 with mere seconds left on the scoreboard. It was a situation rife with pressure, but one that senior captain Steve Harney relished.

Harney and the Bears were in a similar situation the previous night, tied at 54-54 with only a few ticks left. On a play called “Sideline Out-of-Bounds” Harney drilled a 3-pointer with just two seconds left on the clock to win the game. One night later, Harney would experience déjà vu as he scored a layup off of “Sideline-Out-of-Bounds” with just 7 seconds remaining. On the ensuing play, the Raiders were able to get the ball inside for what appeared to be a game-tying score, but the officials ruled that it dropped in after the buzzer, giving the Bears an electrifying victory. Harney finished with a game-high 21 points. Ed Rooney tallied 10 points and 5 assists while Brendan Penn chipped in with 8 points. The Bears also hit seven 3-pointers on the night with Harney, Rooney, and Penn each accounting for two. Harney remembered the thrilling wins:

That was a good tournament for the team. It made us confront ourselves.

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