SUFFIELD, Conn. — There were only three seconds left on the shot clock when Brooks senior Alex Wilkins caught a pass a few feet beyond the 3-point line in the final seconds of Sunday’s NEPSAC Class B final.
With little time to operate, Wilkins took one hard dribble and peeked at the scoreboard to see the dwindling shot clock.
All that was left to do was shoot.
Wilkins backpedaled a step, elevated above his defender, and released a deep 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer. The high-arcing shot traveled through the air with perfect rotation and swished the net, setting off pandemonium at Kinne Court.
Wilkins’ miraculous 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left will forever be etched in Brooks basketball lore as it broke a 61-61 tie and gave sixth-seeded Brooks the Class B title with a 64-61 win over three-time defending champion Rivers.
MORE NEPSAC TITLES: AAA — Newman | AA — Worcester Academy | A — Williston Northampton
“That shot was going up, no matter (what),” said Wilkins. “So many emotions. We put in a ton of work this season. Our goal was to win this title. It’s just a blessing.”
Rivers had one final chance to tie the game. But the inbounds pass into the frontcourt was stolen by Brooks guard Emersen Davis, and the celebration was on. Brooks players streamed from the bench onto the court. Coach Kenya Jones lay facedown on the court as his players patted his back.
“We talked all year about embracing adversity,” said Jones. “Our identity is embracing that adversity. Our kids don’t quit. They listened and they bought in. It was simply amazing and this was the result.”
Sunday’s final was a microcosm of Brooks’ come-from-behind season.
The team trailed for the entire first half, and Brooks didn’t take its first lead until there were 13 minutes left. From there, the ISL rivals traded buckets in a tense finish. The Furman-bound Wilkins (31 points) was brilliant all game long, but Davis (13 points) and Trokon Harris also stepped up with big shots in the second half.
However, fifth-seeded Rivers wouldn’t go away. Colgate-bound forward Andrew Alekseyanko, who missed 17 games this season with a wrist injury, fueled the second-half comeback, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds. Alekseyanko’s put-back layup with 1:20 left tied it 61-61, setting up Wilkins’ heroics at the end.
“Alex practices those shots,” said Jones, who hadn’t beaten Rivers in his three years at Brooks. “I’m not surprised that shot went in.”
Brooks finished the regular season 12-13 and lost both earlier meetings to Rivers, including 77-52 on Feb. 15. It also rallied from a 20-point deficit in Saturday’s semifinal against Canterbury.
So it wasn’t shocking to do it again on Sunday.
“We knew we had a special group so we just had to come together at the right time,” said Wilkins. “It’s amazing to go out like this.”
