See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Shamiek Sheppard and Terrence Samuel were the last players to quietly leave the South Shore locker room.
The seniors, both heading to Division-I colleges next year, departed St. John’s University the same way they had the last two seasons, filled with disappointment of four varsity seasons without breaking through to the semifinals.
The No. 5-seeded Vikings fell 63–62 to No. 4 Wings Academy in the Public School Athletic League Class AA boys basketball quarterfinals on Saturday.
“We are just depressed that this is our last high school game and we went down just like in the last three years,” said Sheppard, who is headed to Towson.
South Shore held a 10-point lead early in the third quarter before Wings rattled off a 13–0 run to grab a 46–41 advantage with 1:19 left in the frame. It set up the back and forth game that followed. Doudmy Saint Hilaire led South Shore with 15 points.
The Vikings (22–7) still led 62–61 with 1:15 left in the game after a Shakur Spencer jumper. Unable to close the deal, the Vikings watched Wings (27–3) take the lead for good on a Jaequan Brown put back in transition with 20 seconds remaining. Francisco Infante, who had 15 points, stole the ball from the UConn-bound Samuel, who had just two points, on the ensuing possession.
The Vikings still had plenty of chances to win in the closing seconds. Samuel had a steal of his own after a Wings timeout, but missed a leaning layup. South Shore got the ball back under its own basket with a second to play.
Wings took away a potential lob to Sheppard, who beat them at the buzzer in double overtime in the regular season. David Tait (14 points) had a clean look from the left block off the inbounds play, but shot it over the rim to end the game.
“We had a couple of good looks,” South Shore coach Mike Beckles said. “We were right there.”
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.