Big Apple Thriller @ Baruch

NEW YORK, NY - The finale of the Big Apple Basketball Invitational on Monday was probably the best game of the high school season thus far. Long Island Lutheran took on their toughest competitor of the season against Sacred Heart (CT). In a nail biter from beginning to end, LuHi rose to the occasion pulling off a 73-72 upset..

Both teams go-to-guys would put forth an offensive barrage that was spectacular. Mustapha Heron buoyed Sacred Heart with a blistering game high 41 points while Devonte Green led the Crusaders with 39 points. While both players lived up to their hype, as the clock wound down, 6'6" senior Charles Manning '16 (13 points & 2 rebounds) came up clutch with the game winning basket.

"All five guys touched the ball on our last possession," said Lutheran Head Coach John Buck. "Incredible unselfishness from everyone and a great finish by Manning."

Green was aggressive all game long, scoring 13 points in the first half alone. "He was incredible. Shot 15-24 from the floor. Found the open man down the stretch. Might be his best effort in a LuHi uniform," Buck said of his Indiana-bound senior guard.

In the warm up quarter, both squads tried to control the tempo. LuHi would take a 3 point lead into the second quarter and a 30-25 advantage at the half leveraged by strong play from 6'6" Chris Coalmon '17 (7 points & 5 rebounds) along with superb court generalship from 5'10" point guard Brandon Jacobs '17 (2 points & 10 assists). 6'8" Donatas Kupsas '18 (8 points & 11 rebounds) was also a beast on the boards.

"Offensively, [we wanted to] attack the basket and get out in transition, said coach Buck. Defensively, he said he wanted to limit Heron to the rim and run [Tyrn] Flowers (5 points) off the 3 point line. Flowers was held scoreless in the first half of play.

The third quarter became a shootout between Green and Heron but L.I. Lutheran maintained the upper hand heading into the final quarter with a mere two point lead.

Sacred Heart was in striking range as Heron raised his level of play. With under four minutes left in regulation, the Connecticut teams deficit was down to a point. "Heron really started heating up from the perimeter and that made them very tough to guard. They have shooters spread out if you double or help," said Buck.

With one more push, Heron drew a foul with 56.8 seconds remaining and gave Sacred Heart its first lead since the first quarter. A step back by Green put LuHi back up by one. The lead changed hand as the hour glass quickly emptied.

Down by a point, LuHi had the ball and Manning closed out Sacred Heart as his teammates rushed the court.

Describing the importance of the win, Coach Buck said, "Enormous. Any win against a Top 25 team is one you won't forget. But to withstand that performance by Heron, share the ball, and stay mentally tough down the stretch made me so proud. We couldn't have asked for a better stage for the win than the Big Apple Invitational."

B.A.B. Invitational Delivers on Day 2