BROOKLINE, Mass. — During every timeout in the second half on Wednesday, Hotchkiss broke down its huddle by saying the same word.
“Resilient,” coach Joe Busacca said.
It was almost ironic, then, that the Bearcats didn’t need a timeout or huddle to make the play that completed their most resilient and important win of the season. They didn’t even have a choice. Down two with less than six seconds left, they didn’t have any timeouts left when they needed to improvise on the fly.
“They didn’t bat an eye,” Busacca said.
And they executed like they did throughout a thrilling comeback. Owen Zabel got the ball from a sideline inbounds pass, took one dribble and found Jordan Ghee, who took a dribble to his left and went for it all, rising and burying a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired to lift Hotchkiss to an incredible 66-65 road win over Dexter Southfield.
Hotchkiss trailed by 14 with 8:32 remaining and by eight with under a minute to go but stayed poised and composed to mount a stunning comeback. Shots fell – including two massive 3-pointers from Preston Merrick in the final minute – and they got the stops and breaks they needed.
“I’m proud of them,” Busacca said. “We have a fun group and I’m happy for a moment like this. They’re going to remember this for the rest of their lives.”
This was a critical win for Hotchkiss in its hopes to make the Class A playoffs. Here are seven standouts and takeaways from the matchup between postseason contenders.
Jordan Ghee, Hotchkiss
Class of 2026, 6-5 guard
Hometown: Totowa, N.J.
The initial play call on the final sequence was designed for Ghee to get a head of steam and go the length of the court to make a play. But a deflection out of bounds reset the play to the sideline. Without a timeout to draw up a new play, Hotchkiss executed on the fly, and ultimately got the ball in the hands of who they wanted. The Bearcats had full trust and confidence in Ghee – who finished with 18 points – to deliver in the biggest moment.
“When I caught it, I heard from my right ear, someone say, ‘Shoot it!’” Ghee said. “So I was like, ‘All right.’ It felt good off my hands. Coach Joe trusts me a lot, which is another big factor that plays into my confidence.”
🚨 BUZZER-BEATER!
Jordan Ghee hits a game-winning 3-pointer as time expires to lift Hotchkiss to a 66-65 victory over Dexter Southfield.
Hotchkiss was down eight in the final minute before mounting a thrilling comeback.
What a moment for @HotchkissHoops. pic.twitter.com/TRodd2uUGi
— Steve Hewitt (@steve_hewitt) February 11, 2026
Ghee, who joined Hotchkiss has a postgraduate this season and remains uncommitted, has impressed Busacca with the evolution of his balanced game over the winter.
“Selfless,” Busacca said. “He’s willing to take big shots, but the (pass) to Owen when we were down by eight, he had an open-pull up and swung to Owen and he missed the 3, he wouldn’t have made that play at the beginning of the year. I think that shows a massive amount of belief in the guys. He can score whenever he wants to, but he’s been really, really impressive at being so selfless and putting the team’s needs in front of his own.
“As a postgrad he’s not committed and sometimes I feel the pressure for him, but he keeps saying he’s having fun with it right now. He’s a selfless leader.”
Ghee said he’s seen a significant jump in his development as a balanced offensive threat, knowing when to be “relentless,” as his dad describes, and when to defer.
“I’ve never played with this much talent, so it’s been pretty fun to work out my all-around game,” Ghee said.
Preston Merrick, Hotchkiss
Class of 2026, 6-5 guard
Hometown: Laurelton, N.Y.
NCAA: Harvard
The comeback would not have been possible without Merrick, who drilled two monster triples in the final minute. The first one came after a stop, and the shot cut Hotchkiss’ deficit to three with 26 seconds left. The second one cut the deficit to two with 9.6 seconds to go. Both were wide open shots, but it still took composure to hit them. Merrick finished with 15 points.
Alonzo Archbold, Hotchkiss
Class of 2027, 6-8 forward
Hometown: Staten Island, N.Y.
Archbold, one of Hotchkiss’ best players in his first winter with the program, continued to shine with 15 points, with nine coming in the first half as the Bearcuts grabbed a four-point halftime lead. The physical, skilled forward was effective inside against a smaller frontcourt. He created early-possession positioning under the rim for an easy bucket, and he made another strong move when he split two defenders under the rim for a basket. He made all four of his free throw attempts and finished with another double-double. He was also effective as a rim protector with multiple blocks.
Malik Adamson, Dexter Southfield
Class of 2027, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Dorchester, Mass.
The first half was not up to standard for Adamson, who didn’t score a point in the opening 16 minutes and committed several uncharacteristic turnovers. He was frustrated as he headed to the halftime locker room, but he returned with a vengeance. He scored on the first play of the second half and that seemed to get him going on both ends; there was a tough bucket at the rim against contact, then a sequence where he made a slick pass to a cutting teammate then drew a charge as he changed the momentum of the game, fueling an 18-5 Dexter run out of the half. He later grabbed steals on back-to-back possessions, turning one into a Eurostep finish in transition and the second one an assist in the open floor. I counted at least six steals for Adamson, and he added a block on a 3-pointer attempted by 6-foot-8 Milos Vasic for good measure.
Lateef Afolabi, Dexter Southfield
Class of 2026, 6-3 guard
Hometown: Dorchester, Mass.
NCAA: Assumption
This was one of the best games I’ve seen Afolabi have in a Dexter uniform. He was slashing at will, using his speed and power to get to the rim and making awesome finishes when he got there, including several through contact. He overpowered one defender, sending him to the ground on one take, and on another he made a vicious crossover to his left to create space and got to the rim quicker than a help defender for the bucket. He was active on the boards, tough to stop in transition – including one coast-to-coast basket off a defensive rebound and another big one-handed dunk – and he was impactful on defense with deflections, steals and a help-side block. Afolabi scored 22 points while going 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
Takeaways
1. If you needed another reminder of how chaotic Class A is, Wednesday’s thriller was further proof. Hotchkiss entered the day 13th in the class standings despite a 14-3 overall record and 9-3 in-class mark due to a weaker strength of schedule. The Bearcats viewed this game against Dexter – which entered in the top eight of Class A – as a must-win, and that message was echoed throughout the nearly three-hour trek from Lakeville, Conn., to Brookline. They did it in essentially the most dramatic way possible, but this win should go a very long way towards their playoff hopes. Hotchkiss has five regular-season games remaining, all against Class A teams: Berkshire, Avon Old Farms, Choate, Kent and Loomis Chaffee.
“Let’s just win out and see what happens,” Busacca said. “We control our own destiny with this win, in my opinion, and guys don’t want the year to end. So this was huge for a lot of reasons.”
2. Busacca credited the comeback all to his players. He said they even instilled belief in him with the way they were approaching the comeback.
“We got back to the huddle and we were down eight and they were like, we’re right here,” Busacca said. “I was like, all right.”
Busacca said the final stretch came down to execution. Hotchkiss does 5-on-0 sets every day in practice “until we’re blue in the face” for moments like Wednesday, and it paid off. Ghee’s strong perspective on the comeback approach told the story, too.
“I’m really big on what I call going 1-0 on every possession,” Ghee said. “That’s one of our big beliefs in our program. Pretty much just winning every play and doing everything I can. Good outcomes should come from that.”
