Double Pride: One Great Buzzer-Beating Shot, Two SUNY Purchase Journalists Covered It

Mike Zacchio, former SUNY Purchase journalism student and part-time reporter at The Journal News, showing the miracle Khalil Edney shot captured on his iPhone

So it turns out that when Khalil Edney slung that amazing shot during the now-infamous Mt.Vernon-New Rochelle AA basketball championship game, catapulting him to stardom Sunday, not one but two students from the SUNY Purchase journalism program were there reporting the heart-stopping moment and the ensuing mayhem.

Mike Zacchio, (Class of ’11) was at the Westchester County Center covering it for the Journal News and recorded it all on his iPhone.

Jordan Griffith was there too working the game for MSG Varsity.

I wrote about Griffith yesterday in a journoprof post. And woke up this morning to this text from Prof. Virginia Breen proudly breaking the news that Mike had been there too: “Tara! The Journal News had front page headline about Edney’s shot. Guess who filmed it? Mike Zacchio! Go Purchase!”

In fact, The Journal News did a whole article about Mike’s experience. Here’s what he told them:

“I finally feel like a real reporter,” the 23-year-old Journal News part-time sports writer said Monday after returning from a news conference with Khalil Edney, who sunk the winning basket Sunday during the historic Mount Vernon-New Rochelle AA basketball championship game. “I just wish I would have gotten the referee when he put his hands down. But I got Mount Vernon and New Rochelle’s reaction. It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot.”

SUNY Purchase journalism major Jordan Griffith

Griffith, for his part, said in an email to his professors yesterday that it was “one of the most spectacular days I think any sports fan (or any reporter for that matter) has seen.” Then he was kind enough to add: “Purchase played a great part in how yesterday went for me.”

If you haven’t seen it, here’s the basket again. The officials wave off the shot but later reverse their decision, handing victory to New Rochelle.

The pride is running over in the Purchase journalism program, which is full of talented students just like these.

“These guys are succeeding and they are perfect illustrations that if you are really passionate about what you’re doing and really invested, you can be really successful,” said Prof. Andrew Salomon, who teaches The Art of Sports Writing at Purchase.

Show your appreciation for these two hard-working journalists and like this post.