It looked like the show was over for Forest Park Tuesday night with under five seconds left in regulation against Woodbridge and the Bruins trailing 52-49. Turns out the show was just beginning–the Austin Judy show, that is.
The Bruins big man hit a three at the buzzer to send the game into overtime and then scored all of his team’s points in the extra frame to help secure a 58-56 Forest Park win. The shot is shown below.
Judy’s first job was to pick for three-point specialist Justin Solomon, but when nothing happened there he popped out to receive the pass. His teammates urged him to shoot and after a couple of pivots Judy did just that, nailing the three-pointer.
“I just wanted to get it up before the buzzer,” the smiling senior said after the game. “I knew I didn’t have the shot on one side so I pivoted back the other way to get it off–and, well, we needed to get this win.”
Nothing was assured at that point, but Judy soon made sure that it was. He demanded the ball in the post and got it, converting most of his attempts down low in overtime. He did it all, really, collecting rebounds and even getting a key steal on defense. Woodbridge was unable to contain him. The Vikings did their best to battle but frankly seemed a little shell-shocked by not winning the game in regulation.
Woodbridge had defeated Forest Park rather easily in the teams’ first meeting at the Bruins’ place, but right out of the gate it was obvious this contest would be a battle. Forest Park took a 6-0 lead on a Judy tip-in, causing Woodbridge to take an early time out. The Vikings then subbed in leading scorer Imrie Worley and their situation rapidly started to improve. The teams battled back and forth and at halftime were tied at 28 apiece.
In the third quarter the athletic Vikings started to force turnovers and after a Kohlby Washington steal led 36-33. But after a Forest Park timeout Judy scored two consecutive baskets to give the Bruins a one-point lead after three.
Woodbridge continued to ratchet up the pressure, rejecting shots, forcing more turnovers and even a ten-second violation late in regulation. Still, the Vikings couldn’t extend their lead past one possession even with some impressive defense. They led 48-46 when Bruins guard Colbert Brandon hit a three-pointer, his first shot of the game, off a feed from Myles Crawley. The Vikings grabbed the lead right back on a baseline drive by John Muange and then scored again to take the 52-49 lead. They seemed in good shape until Judy turned the tide back to Forest Park.
Although Judy was clearly the day’s hero, Forest Park could also point to a team effort to get the hard-earned road win. Eight different players registered assists on the day and a couple of other players stepped up pretty significantly when the Bruins needed it. Solomon had 15 points and gave his team a lift from long range when it needed it. Crawley was good coming off the bench, contributing eight points.
Woodbridge, which had won four straight coming into the contest, could be pleased it got a balanced scoring effort in the loss, although going zero of five from the free throw line on the night was no doubt upsetting to the Vikings coaching staff. Worley led the way with 16 points, and Edward Henderson had a nice all-around game with 10 points, four rebounds and five assists. Washington added nine, Elijah Hunt eight and Muange seven.
But at the end of the day the only name people will remember from this night in Woodbridge’s gym was Austin Judy–deservedly so.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| FOREST PARK | FG | FT | TP | RB | AST | |
| COLBERT | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| JUDY | 10-21 | 2-4 | 23 | 9 | 1 | |
| JACKSON JOHNSON | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| SOLOMON | 5-11 | 2-2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | |
| COLLINS | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Juwan Johnson | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| Thomas | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Crawley | 4-8 | 0-0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | |
| Bean | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 24-55 | 4-6 | 58 | 29 | 14 | |
| Threes: Solomon 3-7, Colbert 1-2, Judy 1-3, Jackson Johnson 1-4, Bean 0-1, Crawley 0-1 | ||||||
| WOODBRIDGE | FG | FT | TP | RB | AST | |
| MUANGE | 3-7 | 0-0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| HUNT | 4-7 | 0-1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | |
| HENDERSON | 5-5 | 0-1 | 10 | 4 | 5 | |
| WASHINGTON | 4-12 | 0-0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | |
| MAYE | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Worley | 7-17 | 0-1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hopkins | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| Warren | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Haslem | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 26-54 | 0-5 | 56 | 23 | 9 | |
| Threes: Worley 2-6, Muange 1-4, Washington 1-5, Maye 0-1, Hopkins 0-1 | ||||||