It's A Dane Dash To The Championship On Zuvic's Game Winner

Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo signaled for a much-needed timeout as five seconds remained on the clock. Lincoln Hall, who split the regular season series with the Blue Devils, was clinging to a one-point lead after Kymkwan Hall buried a shallow jumper with 50 seconds remaining.

A blue-clad Haldane cheering section that arrived to the Westchester County Center in droves, was collectively on the edge of their seats. The 2011 post-season hung in the balance.

Fresh off the inbounds pass, point guard Jimmy Meekins dumped a pass into unsung senior Jackson Zuvic, who was floating along the left baseline. Zuvic got a clear look at the basket and let fly a five-footer as tenths of a second remained on the clock.

Money.

Zuvic's game-winner, the Shot Heard Around The Section, lifted the Blue Devils to a pulse-pumping 60-59 win and a berth in the Section I/Class C championship game. The Blue Devils, who played a rigid schedule that included Class A and B foes, will face top-seeded Tuckahoe in the title game.

"We drew the play up right there in the huddle," said Zuvic, who scored a game-high 30 points, including 10 in the game's final 3:58. I came off a back screen and Jimmy got me ball. I was off in the first two quarters, my shots were rimming in and out, I knew they would eventually fall."

Nobody is sleeping on Haldane now.

The Blue Devils are salivating at the sight of the program's first Gold Ball since 2001, when then-senior Ryan Anderson shot the County Center lights out. Haldane garnered a championship berth in 2003, but were defeated by a Leake & Watts team featuring a bruising behemoth in 6-foot-5, 300-pound center Jason Coston.

Zuvic, a 6-foot-5 All-State senior forward who has not been equated with the same star power as other elite scorers at the County Center on championship week, tried to flee the scene as he was mobbed him at mid-court.

It was bedlam at the Barn That Ben Built.

"That's what you live for," said coach Virgadamo of Zuvic's flair for the dramatic.

"I can't explain it, this feeling. If there was ever a group of guys that deserve this, it's these guys. We struggled at times definitely. I told them, though, it's going to be a game of swings. We wanted the last swing. We got the last shot and we believed."

It was no surprise to anyone in the building that Zuvic came across the baseline ready to pull-and-pop. The senior should no longer go under-noticed by the masses. On the biggest stage Section I has to offer, Zuvic drilled a deep corner 3-pointer to give Haldane a 58-54 edge with 1:12 remaining.

Lincoln Hall's Corey Blair, who scored a team-best 22 points, answered by swishing a pull-up 3-pointer seven seconds later.

The game's thrill-factor was promised with the showdown between Zuvic and three-point marksman Blair, two of the state's top scorers in Class C. The dizzying, back-and-forth affair certainly lived up to the heavy billing.

"He's just a great player," said Zuvic of Blair, the Peekskill native and cousin of former Peekskill High star Mookie Jones (who now plays at Syracuse).

"It was tough because we split with them in the regular season. I knew I had to avoid foul trouble...I've always wanted to be in this situation. I always wanted the chance to be in the County Center and help my team get to the finals."

After Haldane misfired on two attempts that would have closed the door, they got that chance when Blair missed the front of one-and-one. Zuvic soared in for the rebound, pushed the ball downcourt and Virgadamo called timeout.

Meekins, who dished out 10 assists, scored on a driving layup that capped a 10-2 spurt with a thread under 5:20 remaining in the third. The bucket supplied Haldane--which trailed 27-21 at the half--with 31-29 edge.

In the waning moments of the Blue Devils' 20-point third quarter, Zuvic kept the pressure on Lincoln Hall.

"The key for Jackson was staying out of foul trouble," said Virgadamo. "We knew they were going to play physical on him and try to get him in foul trouble. He did a great job of avoiding that."

After Blair knocked down a three-pointer that he might as well have shot from Somers (well beyond the confines of the arc), Zuvic bagged a corner 3 with 1:24 remaining.

Lincoln Hall's Rodney Scales (eight points, eight rebounds) answered inside.

Then, Zuvic got free for a layin by way of a Meekins pass, supplying the Blue Devils a 41-40 lead as the crowd erupted.

Just when the momentum began to roll, Lincoln Hall tied the game on a free throw. Moments later, Blair turned a swiping steal into a pull-up 3 to beat the buzzer and provide Lincoln Hall with a 44-41 lead.

Junior guard Elias Lopez rose to the challenge. The junior guard, who quarterbacks the Blue Devils' football team, scored a career-high 19 points. Lopez scored 11 of Haldane's first 15, soaring in for a putback and then netting a triple as Haldane seized a 15-12 lead with 6:44 remaining in the second quarter.

Haldane awoke from a first half that was littered with turnovers from both sides. They ran off a 9-2 surge after an anxiety-laden, lackluster start.

Through his leadership and ability to navigate the County Center Pressure Cooker, it's clear that Zuvic is a kid that gets it. He came in looking to atone for Haldane's shortcomings last year at the County Center.

He scored 30 points and ripped down crucial boards before a sea of onlookers that included Jeff Charney and Chad Charney. The father-and-son coaching tandem have helped turn around a once-ailing program at SUNY Purchase.

Coaches from SUNY Oneonta, also in pursuit of Zuvic, took in the thriller.

Oneonta State reps should be a fixture at the Barn That Ben Built--famed Detroit Piston Ben Gordon flourished at the CC during his stay at Mount Vernon--this week, as they're hoping to net Kennedy Catholic guard Frankie Kelly.