Binghamton captures state title in double-overtime. 'We were doing this for the whole city'
A legendary performance from Zubayr Griffin helped bring a monumental moment to Binghamton High School and the city Friday night at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.
Griffin closed a 2,000-point plus high school career by scoring 40 to help the Patriots to a 75-61, double-overtime triumph over Niskayuna in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA boys basketball championship game.
Binghamton twice survived potential game-winning shots from Niskayuna and needed Griffin and Derek Abu Jr. to hit tying free throws in the closing seconds of regulation and overtime to keep its hopes alive.
The Patriots then seized the prize that dangled in front of them. They outscored Niskayuna, 17-3, in the second overtime before a raucous celebration at midcourt with their cheerleaders.
"We just started feeding off each other," Griffin said. "We started capitalizing off their mistakes. They had a lot of turnovers, and we started scoring off of it.
"We kept our head in the game. We know we worked hard for this. We weren’t going to let up and let them beat us and just give up."
This Binghamton team, which won its final 16 games to finish 20-3, joined the 1984-85 and 1985-86 squads in delivering state championships in boys hoops to the school.
This title was elevated by how it happened, the play of Griffin and the fact it came in front of a packed arena that is just a mile away from the Binghamton High campus.
"We were doing this for the whole city," said Binghamton senior Yusri Razzaq, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. "I’ve never seen this place like that before in my life. … Everybody in this city popped out, for us and everybody has my love for that."
A cooler of water was dumped over the head of Binghamton head coach Duncan Paddick after the game. His message to his team at halftime, with Binghamton down 26-24, was simply to believe.
"We kind of coined this team the community’s team," Paddick said. "There’s so many people supporting us, you could feel it. The energy was electric, and I think it speaks to the character and talent of this team."
Griffin cramped up in the closing seconds and was carried off the court to a soaring cheer from the Binghamton faithful.
"It felt amazing. It felt like the whole city was behind you at that moment," Griffin said of the fans' response in that moment.
"We worked very hard for this. It was a hard-fought battle; we ended up on top. It feels great."
Star of the Game
Griffin's points came on a 15-for-28 shooting night in which he made six of nine 3-point attempts. He added seven rebounds.
He played the final six minutes of regulation and both four-minute overtimes with four fouls.
"He was unbelievable in the biggest moment on the biggest stage. That guy’s a legend," second-year Binghamton head coach Duncan Paddick said.
"He was not going to let us lose. Everybody talks about the ’85 team and King Rice. Well, everyone’s going to remember this team and Zubayr Griffin. What he did was just uncommon. He’s an uncommon kid. He works harder than anybody, he loves the game, he takes it so serious and I think that’s really what came out in this moment is he wanted it, and he went and took it."
Razzaq, who played in a state final four with Seton Catholic Central, said he had a feeling Griffin was due for a 30- or 40-point type of game. Razzaq's assessment of Griffin?
"Phenomenal job," Razzaq said.
Griffin came to Binghamton for his senior year after starring at Johnson City. He couldn't have written a better script for his farewell prep season before heading off to Monmouth University to play for Rice.
"In my last-ever high school game, I think I left my mark," Griffin said.
Key moments
With Binghamton down two, Griffin hit two foul shots with 5.5 seconds left in regulation. Niskayuna's Daniel Smalls had a shot to win it, but his driving layup was too strong.
Abu's tying free throws in the first overtime came with 23 seconds to go. Smalls was long on a spinning turnaround jumper in the lane, and the game went to a second overtime.
"It kind of felt like a dream. You don’t know whether they’re going to score, you don’t know whether you’re going to score," Griffin said.
"You just have to lock in, trust the game plan, trust the coaches and opportunities will come. And capitalize off the opportunities. That’s what we did."
Binghamton took the lead for good when Griffin fed Shawn Remplet for a layup. Griffin then hit a 3-pointer for a 65-60 advantage, followed by a hoop from Abu with 1:07 to go.
The Patriots went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final 40 seconds. Paddick pointed to what he called a game-sealing play from Jayden Remplet, whose box-out led to a technical foul against Niskayuna when Remplet was tossed to the court.
Binghamton's coach said he thought Niskayuna grew tired in the second overtime, an assessment echoed by Razzaq.
"We had that grit," Razzaq said. "A lot of shots weren’t going, but we didn’t give up. We did not give up at all. We pulled out the stops when we needed to, we scored when we needed to and, eventually, we kept going and kept going and kept going, and they felt it in their legs."
By the numbers
Smalls and Ethan Gilson scored 21 points each to lead Section 2 champion Niskayuna (20-6). Smalls added seven rebounds and four steals.
For Binghamton, Abu had nine points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Corien Noble matched him with nine points to go with 15 rebounds and five blocked shots.
As a team, Binghamton went 16-for-19 from the foul line.
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton boys basketball team won the program's third state title
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