Campus Magnet owned John F. Kennedy for the better part of three quarters on Saturday in the PSAL Winter Classic at St. Francis College. What happened in the fourth quarter is what everyone who saw the game will remember.

Junior Kadeem Nicholas [pictured] scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and senior Rhamel Williams added 12 points for the Knights, who erased a 19-point deficit in the second half. Kennedy outscored the Bulldogs 28-16 in the fourth on the way to defeating the Bulldogs, 60-56

Nicholas jumpstarted the comeback with his long-range shooting. He drilled three triples in the third quarter, including one from near half court at the buzzer, to make the score 40-32. The Knights, who appeared energized on defense by the buzzer-beater, embarked on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 44 with 4:17 left. Then, Nicholas gave the Knights the lead with 3:18 left on a floater in the lane. Kennedy was rolling, but senior Keith McCallister, who scored 22 points, wouldn't let the Bulldogs roll over.

McCallister, who at times has faded down the stretch of games, scored 10 points in the final three minutes. His three-point play with 3:06 left gave the Bulldogs a 47-46 lead. Then, after Williams put the Knights back on top 50-49 with 1:45 remaining, McCallister answered with a pair of free throws. After Williams and Nicholas combined to score four points, McCallister's three-point play with 24 seconds left tied the game at 56. But the Bulldogs committed two costly turnovers in the final 19 seconds and Kennedy scored the final four points of the game from the free throw line.

“We dug a hole,” Kennedy coach Johnny Mathis said, “but we were able to come out of it with tough defense. We started out soft and [Campus Magnet] was playing physical, so we changed to a man-to-man defense and it paid off.”

McCallister's play down the stretch mirrored his play in the first quarter. He scored eight points in the paint, but Magnet missed a few other easy baskets. Kennedy, on the other side, missed five of six free throws. So Magnet led 11-8 after one unimpressive quarter.

The action picked up in the second quarter, as the Bulldogs took a big bite out of Kennedy with an effective fast break. Senior Josiah Peay, who finished with 20 points, scored eight consecutive points during a 13-0 run. McCallister finished it off with 3:11 left in the quarter to put the Bulldogs up 26-12. Magnet increased its lead to 34-17 at the half. The Bulldogs were in charge, but the halftime intermission gave the Knights a chance to regroup.

“We came out in the second half wanting to play defense,” Nicholas said. “We never thought the game was over. We just kept hustling and playing hard.”

Boys & Girls 82, Wadleigh 73

Senior Zamal Nixon had 20 points and seven assists and senior Ricco Oliver added 18 points for the Kangaroos, who led 30-15 after one. Senior Joshua Watkins dropped 27 points and junior Curtis Loving had 18 for Wadleigh.

Transit Tech 57, Midwood 44

Senior Garfield Burchette scored 12 points and senior Al Alexander and junior Vernord McCoy each added 11 for the Express, who snapped a four-game losing streak to the Hornets dating back the last two seasons. Sophomore Gregory Noel had 17 points for Midwood.

Eagle Academy 61, Teachers Preparatory 48

Juniors Tyquan Brown and Antoine Gattling each scored 16 points for the Eagles, who led 34-13 at halftime. Junior Dayon Ratliff scored 13 points and junior Chuk Ndame added 12 for Teachers.