Friends Academy won New York's Class C championship Saturday, holding on for a 46-44 victory after Syacuse Academy failed on a close-range shot in the final seconds at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Friends Academy (17-4), a school located on the north shore of Long Island, secured a critical 3-pointer from Tommy Costa with 1:26 remaining for a 45-43 lead it would not relinquish in a close contest that was tied at halftime, 22-22.
It was the second time in as many days an opponent held Syracuse Academy (22-3) well below its more than 78 points-per-game scoring average after putting up only 39 points Friday night in the semifinals against Greenwich, the team's lowest scoring output of the season.
Syracuse Academy struggled from the field on Saturday, hitting only 16 of 44 field-goal attempts nd nine of 21 from the free throw line. Syracuse Academy missed eight of 14 free throws in the final quarter. Friends Academy had the rebounding edge 45-26.
Friends Academy, which will take home the school's first basketball title, entered the game having already taken down the top two teams in Class C over the course of the tournament, including an overtime victory over top-ranked International Prep in the semifinals.
Costa finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and was named tournament MVP. T.J. Hefele, the son of Friends Academy's head coach, added 11 points and a late free throw, while Bennett Felder added 12 points.
Jamon Hadden led the way for Syracuse Academy, a charter school playing its first season in Class C and fifth overall. Ahmet Tunali, the Syracuse Academy center who is a 6-foot-7 exchange student from Turkey, was held to seven points and nine rebounds.
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