“We can’t hear you! We can’t hear you!”

Those were the chants heard from the Sewanhaka cheering section directed at the Floral Park fans as their beloved Knights trailed the Indians 56-52, with 11 seconds left on the clock (and Sewanhaka on the foul line for two shots) in Thursday night’s highly anticipated Nassau County Class A semifinal matchup. Spectators from throughout the gym had gathered their belongings and made their way toward the exits. In their minds, this game was over.

But not for Floral Park senior point guard Frankie Phelan. The jeers from the Sewanhaka fans only added fuel to his fire.

Sewanhaka missed both free throws, the second grabbed by junior Michael Matich, who secured the rebound and quickly gave the ball to Phelan. Playing on an injured ankle that left him limping for much of the 4th quarter, Phelan, out of desperation, and faced with his Floral Park career coming to an end, launched up a three pointer that caught nothing but net.

The subsequent time out by Floral Park was called with 3.8 seconds left and the Knights trailing 56-55.

On the ensuing possession, Sewanhaka’s inbounds pass was stolen by, you guessed it, Phelan. As the remaining seconds ticked away, Phelan stopped at the three-point line where he was fouled with no time left on the clock. The Floral Park student section went into a frenzy while those walking toward the exit stopped in their tracks. The game was about to be decided on the foul line. His first shot was long and bounced off the rim. But Phelan regathered himself as he asked the clock operators to take down the red lighting around the basket. He took a deep breath and made the second. Tie game. Were we heading to overtime or was Phelan about to pull off one of the most improbable comebacks in Nassau County history?

Shot made. Game over. Knights win!

There are not enough words to describe what transpired at SUNY Farmingdale in this game. Floral Park’s exhilarating 57-56 win over Sewanhaka is a game that those in attendance will talk about for years to come.

Both teams got off to sluggish starts with costly turnovers and sloppy passes, keeping it close for a majority of the contest. A mere six points was the largest gap that separated the squads the entire night, proving how evenly matched these two teams turned out to be.

Sewanhaka’s game plan appeared to be to smother Floral Park’s lethal outside shooting game. The Knights were never able to get open on the three-point line. But this opened up the middle for Phelan and fellow senior Brian Fox, who combined for 46 of Floral Park’s 57 points, mostly by driving to the basket for layups. Sewanhaka built its late lead by taking advantage of its height advantage underneath the basket.

With both Jayson Delgado and Michael Incantalupo in foul trouble, the Knights received outstanding contributions off the bench from senior Simon Touze and junior Matthew O’Donnell.

“The atmosphere was honestly surreal,” said O’Donnell. “Both schools were really into the game and it definitely helped to bring us back. Being on that court in this big of a game was awesome to be part of.”

The Knights’ bench, celebrating wildly throughout the contest, had a front row seat to the performances by Phelan and Fox.

“There was no doubt that we still had a chance to win this game,” said junior Jim Ollen, contrary to the opinion of most observers. “Frankie always plays his heart out until the final second.”

As the entire gym erupted following Phelan’s last-second antics, he was mobbed by cameras and news stations. When asked what was going through his mind on the foul line during that tense moment, Phelan simply said, “to make them.”

Spoken like a true champion.

Up next for Floral Park is a county final matchup with Garden City, a 39-38 victor over Elmont in the night’s other semifinal game. Garden City won in similar fashion, making two foul shots with .3 seconds left on the clock to defeat the two-time defending champs.  The game is a rematch of an earlier season controversial game played at FPM in which Garden City defeated the Knights 49-48 on a last-second basket that appeared to fall after the clock had expired. The game will by played on Saturday, March 3 at 4:00 pm at SUNY Farmingdale.

FPM, this is a going to be a game you don’t want to miss.