PSA claims 5th National title
W. HARTFORD — All is right once again in the prep school basketball world.
After losing in the championship game last year, Putnam Science Academy returned to the top of the mountain Thursday night and claimed its fifth national prep school title, defeating in-state foe St. Thomas More, 79-72.
Senior Ben Ahmed led the Mustangs with 20 points and five rebounds on his way to being named tournament MVP. He was a starter on last year’s team, as well as the 2022-23 team that won it all.
“This means a lot to me,” he said. “I couldn’t go out like that. I know what it feels like to lose and I didn’t want my teammates to go through that too. I know winning feels so much better.”
Ahmed, who is headed to Oklahoma State next year, leaves behind a legacy as one of PSA’s all-time greatest players. In addition to being a two-time champion, the Nigerian native – who hasn’t seen his parents in three years – is also PSA’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and its single-season record-holder in both categories. No one has played (128) or started (117) more games than him either.
“I can say that besides all his record-breaking stats and points and rebounding, Ben is a great friend, like a brother to me,” said point guard Tony Williams, who was the only other member of this year’s team left over from last year. “Ben always picked up the next man and helped them when no one was looking, so that means a lot. The legacy he brought to this school and program…he’s one of a kind.”
PSA won its final 33 games and finished with a school-record 41 wins against just two losses, which came on consecutive days way back in mid-November. The Mustangs dominated their opponents all season, with an average margin of victory of nearly 27 points, but they found themselves in unfamiliar territory against St. Thomas More. PSA faced its biggest deficit of the year, trailing by nine points about midway through the first half. The Mustangs fought back, however, and took a one-point lead into the break.
“As long as we stuck together and stayed composed, it was ours,” said Williams, who is headed to Fairfield next year. “Down 15 or up 15, the game wasn’t over. Being down in the first couple minutes like we’ve never been struck us a little bit, but I knew in my gut that we weren’t going to quit.”
The second half was just as tight and tense as PSA could never put it out of reach, but a big bucket and clutch free throws from Ahmed, plus an offensive rebound putback from Brayson Green in the final minutes sealed the win.
“It wasn’t a fun game for me,” coach Tom Espinosa said after with a laugh. “It was stressful. We never got a comfortable lead, which we’re not used to. The kids have stepped up all year though and gotten the job done. Our experience was Ben Ahmed and Tony Williams, and they led us. I’m so happy for the kids because it’s a memory they’ll have forever. They’ll be linked together forever.”
“But it’s stressful, it really is. As a school, we have a lot of pressure to win it because we’ve done it before, and we make no secret about it being our goal every year. It’s a lot of pressure to have to show up every day. We have a target on our backs, everyone is coming after us.”
Williams finished the game with 11 points, Parrish Edmond and Abdou Yadd both had 10, while Green added six points and six rebounds, and Adama Tambedou chipped in five points and eight boards.
The Mustangs should have a great chance to repeat next year as six of their top 10 rotation players – Green, Edmond, Tambedou, Warren Keel, Jaeden Roberts, and Jamell Hatchett – are expected to return.
PSA advanced to the title game by beating Vermont Academy 82-72 in the semifinals earlier the same day, led by Green (14 points, four rebounds) and Yadd (13 points, four rebounds).
The Mustangs used a balanced attack to beat Hargrave Military Academy 86-59 in the first round. Yadd led the way with 11 points and three rebounds, while Ahmed added 10 points and five boards. Green (nine points, eight rebounds), Williams (eight points, three assists), Tambedou (seven points, seven rebounds), and Sam Osayi (eight boards) all played well.
It was more of the same in the quarterfinals, a 90-46 thrashing of Massanutten. Green had 12 points and eight rebounds (seven offensive), Edmond had 12 points and four boards, while Ahmed finished with 11 points, and Williams and Yadd chipped in 10 apiece.
Editor’s note: We will post an extensive gallery of tournament photos Wed. night on our FB page: Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger.
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