Northridge Prep junior guard Lee Cullen won’t ever have to waste time dreaming about hitting the buzzer-beater to win the big game.
Friday night he lived it.
Northridge (19-10) built an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, then fought off a furious Francis Parker comeback in the closing minutes to set the stage for Cullen’s heroics as the Knights earned their second straight Class A regional title with a 42-40 victory in Niles.
Trailing 40-29 with 5 minutes 5 seconds left, Francis Parker (24-4) ran off 11 straight points, the last two on a baseline runner by Jabari Reynolds (17 points), with 1:15 left for a 40-40 tie. Northridge inbounded the ball and worked the clock to 10 seconds when Cullen got the ball.
He faked right, dribbled left and buried a 12-foot jumper with one second left, setting off a celebration and earning a ride off the court on the shoulders of the home-court crowd.
“I’ve seen so many of those last-second Michael Jordan game-winners, I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to do it myself,” Cullen said. “I actually thought it was going to be long.”
Mike Battle led the Knights with 11 points. Bob McCormick had 11 for Parker.
