Hugs, backslaps, fist-pumps and even a dose of adrenaline-pumping honesty.
In the aftermath of Friends Academy’s 38-36 win over Lynbrook in the Nassau County Class A semifinals on Saturday night, boys’ basketball coach Matt Johnsen saw nothing but glowing smiles as countless fans congratulated him near the Quakers’ bench at Farmingdale State College.
Except for one older gentleman, whose smile turned rather serious when he told the coach, “You guys nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Coach Johnsen laughed and nodded in agreement. Indeed, the Quakers had a chance to essentially ice the game with 24 seconds left to play when freshman point guard Jax Saulter stepped to the free throw for two shots — and uncharacteristically missed both.
On the ensuing final possession, Lynbrook missed a contested runner in the lane and failed to get another shot off in time from the left block against the Quakers’ tight defense.
As the buzzer sounded, Friends players rushed to celebrate near midcourt and the large contingent of Quakers fans erupted into pandemonium.
The grind-it-out, heart-pounding win propelled Friends Academy to the Nassau County Class A championship game against Floral Park. The fourth-seeded Quakers will play the second-seeded Knights on Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. at Farmingdale State College. (Floral Park advanced to the title game with a 93-44 win over sixth-seeded Seaford on Saturday night.)
Despite missing those two foul shots near the end, Jax (pictured above) still led Friends Academy with a game-high 18 points, including the eventual game-winner with about a minute left to play.
After a timeout, Jax started the inbounds play in the middle of the court — a tweak to a regular play that Coach Johnsen had made in the huddle. The misdirection worked, with Jax getting the ball near the high post and driving in for a layup.
“Jax has such great body control,” Coach Johnsen says. “And he has a great sense of when he can attack the basket. We basically scribbled that play in the sand and he turned it into the game-winning basket.”
Jax scored in a variety of ways throughout the contest. He hit from beyond the 3-point arc; he found the bottom of the net from the mid-range, including a picturesque stop-and-pop jumper near the right elbow to close out the first half; he routinely penetrated Lynbrook’s tough and tall zone defense with the dribble and drew multiple trips to the foul line.
The ball might have rattled the rim on his two free throws near the end, but his mind remained focused and his body language poised. He responded to those misses with lockdown defense, applying pressure as Lynbrook pushed the ball up the court.
“I missed those free throws, but I knew we couldn’t let up,” he says. “Our season was on the line, and we’ve been playing for this championship opportunity the whole year. We worked too hard. We couldn’t settle. We couldn’t lose that motivation. I love playing with these guys. I love going through hard times with these guys. And I love winning with these guys.”
Senior guard Shane Kramer (pictured above) finished with nine points on three 3-pointers, including a crucial swish with just over four minutes to play. As Jax deftly dribbled to break Lynbrook’s half-court press, he found Shane in the left corner.
Shane didn’t hesitate to shoot, giving the Quakers a 34-30 advantage and their largest lead of the game — a lead that Lynbrook would erase over the final few minutes until Jax scored what proved to be the game-winning layup on the misdirection play.
As for digging deep over the final 20-plus seconds and preventing Lynbrook from getting a good look at the end, Coach Johnsen says that hold-the-line mentality has been a hallmark of this year’s squad.
“They didn’t want their season to end,” he says. “They wanted more days together. It’s not just about the win, which is great. It’s about being together, putting in the work together, and having as many days as possible together. We’ve battled the whole year. We just keep persevering, and they’ve done a great job.”
Photos by Arnold Miller for Friends Academy
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