Although John F. Kennedy high school received a higher seeding slot than its semi-final opponent, the squad was expected to be the most unlikely to receive a trip to Madison Square Garden.

But the second seeded Knights, who have played small throughout the season, earned a place in the PSAL Championship game when they defeated third seeded Thomas Jefferson Campus in overtime at the league semi-final playoffs 61-58.

JFK tied the game 58-all after a bucket by senior point guard Jeffery Arzu with 1:02 remaining in the post-regulation period. When Thomas Jefferson took possession, it couldn't convert twice, but came down with the offensive board each time. On the third and final attempt by the Orange Wave, Knights junior combo guard Naquan Pierce, the shortest player on the court, hustled to the floor to get the rebound and called timeout with 30.9 seconds remaining in OT.

On a set-play that JFK head coach Johnny Mathis calls "Indiana," Pierce hit a jumper to bring the Knights up by a deuce, 60-58, with 15 seconds remaining in overtime. Ten seconds later, a jump-ball was called and the possession went to JFK. Arzu was fouled and iced the game with one from the charity stripe with 4.4 seconds on the clock.

Pierce finished with 23 points, while Arzu netted 14. And, for Thomas Jefferson, junior guard David Coley scored a team-high 15 points.

Playing without senior guard Keith Spellman, due to non-clearance by a doctor because of his back injury, the Orange Wave were forced to find scoring options else where. Thomas Jefferson head coach Lawrence Pollard found out Friday that his player wouldn't be in the line-up for the Sunday semi-final contest. Although Mathis said he didn't realize that Spellman wasn't on the floor until the third quarter, both Spellman and Pollard felt it made the difference in the entire game.

"It definitely would have made the difference," said Pollard. "We're missing 20 points a game along with all the other intangibles he brings to the game. He's one of our toughest kids. But at the end of the day, what can you do, we lost. We can't say if [Spellman] was here or if he wasn't here-- our guys couldn't pull it out."

Joel Wright, the Orange Wave's other team leader, fouled out with 3:20 remaining in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 points. Wright had been struggling inside with converting and turning the ball over. And, with the junior forward sitting on the sidelines, Thomas Jefferson lacked his leadership inside. JFK was able to capitalize on Wright's absence on the defensive end and score more in the paint.

"Believe me, I never seen my big guys so animated," said Mathis. "They were at practice yesterday before me. They be on time, but this time they were in there early. They was excited to play this ball game."

After a game-tying bucket by Orange Wave sophomore guard Davontay Grace (nine points) with about 17 seconds left in the second half, Knights junior swingman Jeffery Short couldn't convert on a shot straight-on from the charity stripe and allowed the game to extend into overtime tied at 53.

In the ticking seconds of the first quarter, it seemed that Pierce and Arzu were going to struggle because of the longer and stronger Orange Wave. But, the Knights quickly surged to a 13-6 first period closing. Thomas Jefferson used a slow offensive train by JFK to catch up, tying the game by the end of the second quarter, 25-all.

The last time the Knights made it to the finals in the PSAL playoffs was in 2005, when JFK beat Lincoln.

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