Clippers win at last second – twice

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Suffolk News-Herald

As if one buzzer-beater in a day weren’t enough, the Lake Kennedy Clippers had to withstand a pair on Saturday at a fellowship tournament at the Berkley Community Center in Norfolk.

The Suffolk squad got ahead of the Norfolk All-Stars early, but the host squad dominated the third quarter and held on in the fourth, going ahead 47-46 with five seconds left.

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No matter. Jaleel Nelson rattled home a baseline runner at the buzzer to ice the contest for the Suffolk squad.

Next came the Booker T. Washington High School team, a game that was tied on four separate occasions. With 10 seconds to play, the Bookers had a 51-49 advantage as the Clippers inbounded from under their own basket.

Teron Bell snared the pass near midcourt, and flipped a shot toward the baseline, where Ernest Jones snared it a few feet outside the three-point line. With the clock ticking past five, Jones juked forward across the line, then backed up and, with a second to play, let it fly.

It swished and the squad mobbed their temporary hero. At the moment at which champions are made, the Clippers had come through twice, upping their record to 20-7.