BROOKLYN, NY - The battle for first place in the PSAL Brooklyn AA league was full of energy and heartbreak. South Shore traveled to the sweat box gym on Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn that is home to Thomas Jefferson. The Orange Wave held the lead for most of the game, including a double-digit lead with about 2 and a half minutes left, but almost gave it all back in the last minute.

The key word is almost, which means they came close, but they didn’t give it all back. Jefferson successfully defended their home court and survived an incredible attempt at a South Shore comeback to win 80-79 to take over a piece of first place in Brooklyn AA.

It was a crazy final sequence where the last 5 players standing for Jefferson were able to defend their basket against the taller South Shore players. The Vikings had good looks at the hoop but couldn’t get the ball to drop through the net because of the frenetic defense Jefferson played in those last 8 seconds. South Shore had at least 3 or 4 shots at the basket, but eventually the ball was knocked away as time expired and that allowed the home fans to storm the court in jubilation.

Jefferson head coach Lawrence "Bud" Pollard said his team didn’t play well in the fourth quarter. They allowed South Shore to make a real comeback it got chaotic. For whatever reason that only the players know, Jefferson couldn’t slow down their own game. Pollard said, “We were careless with the ball. Instead of taking our time, they sped us up and we had bad offense. And that bad offense allowed more turnovers”

The Orange Wave did indeed rush shots during those last few minutes, and the offense was bad. It was like they were playing with no head, running around like decapitated chickens about to be turned into barbeque wings, just crazy.

It led to a ton of turnovers and fouls, which sent South Shore to the freebie line a lot. If the Vikings would’ve shot those free throws better, there would probably have been a different outcome.

“We did everything wrong at the end of the game but did everything right to get the lead. We had enough to hold on” Pollard said.

It was a foul fest and the Orange Wave were lucky to survive it. They only have nine players on the team and four of them fouled out. They were down to their last 5 players and if another one fouled out, they would have had a real situation. Luckily for Jefferson, it never got to that point.

One of the players that fouled out was sophomore guard Jaquan Carlos. Carlos was the game high scorer, finishing with 25 points before going to the bench with more than half of the final quarter remaining. He had a good game, knocking down 3 threes and finishing some impressive drives to the basket.

The last player to foul out for Jefferson was high scoring senior guard Kareem Welch, who was also the 2nd leading scorer in the game. Welch has been on a tear this season, seemingly scoring the ball at will. He finished with 19 points, mostly because he was in foul trouble.

Welch came into the game averaging 41 points in Brooklyn AA play, which is an outstanding number. Currently, Welch is flying under the radar when it comes to recruiting. There are a handful of schools that are starting to show interest in offering the 6-0 guard, if they haven’t already. Welch is definitely capable of playing at the next level.

The Orange Wave led the entire way until the last play of the third quarter when South Shore guard Kadary Richmond (12 points) made a half-court shot to give the Vikings their first lead of the game. However, Jefferson responded and quickly pushed the lead back up to double-digits again, this time behind a big offensive spurt from junior guard Kevin Tabb. Femi Odukale, who had a subpar game, fouled out on a block call when Tabb drove and scored.

Tabb knocked down the plus one and then proceeded to make 2 more three pointers to help build Jefferson’s lead back up to double digits. Tabb had 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter, every single one huge because they needed every bit of that cushion in the end.

The win now gives Jefferson at least a share of first place with South Shore. Both teams are now 6-1 in league play. The rematch will be very interesting being that the game could be for the Brooklyn AA title on the last day of the regular season.

Senior center Isaiah Richards led South Shore with 20 points, while senior guard Dwight Davis Jr. added 17 for the visitors.