Top 5 Most Exciting Sports Games of 2011

There was no shortage of great sport stories this past year in Rockville Centre, so we're breaking down our top five most exciting games. Some culminate in a championship, while others were simply nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thrillers. Here we go!

No. 5 — Though their season ended in a first-round upset loss to Great Neck North, the Cyclones basketball team played its most exciting game of the season on . In a matchup that favored the Indians, the Cyclones stormed back down six late in the fourth quarter and had the ball with the game tied and 20 seconds left. After the Cyclones inbounded, Ryan Spadaford bobbled the pass, so the junior forward pulled up for a jumper from the elbow. It rattled it and out, but Justin Rhodes had the inside position for a tip in. He missed the layup, but Nickelson flew in off the left block and tipped in Rose's miss with 3 seconds left. Check out the video of the . The crowd goes wild!

No. 4 — . In what turned out to be a pitcher's duel, it was a seventh-inning defensive error that downed South Side in their first round, Conference A playoff matchup against Island Trees on May 15. South Side's Louis Matarazzo (2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBIs) tied the score in the second with a 400-foot solo blast to center. He followed that with a two-run jack in the fourth to give South Side a 3-1 lead, but a key defensive error opened the door for an Island Trees comeback, who won it in the bottom of the seventh. Matarazzo's two homeruns were, by far, the two longest homeruns hit in the season. Can you say moonshots?

No. 3 —. In a game that had South Side down twice against No. 1 seed Division with just minutes to go in the Nassau County finals, the Lady Cyclones displayed a resiliency that would propel them all the way to a state title. Down 2-1 with 11 seconds left in the second overtime, Julie Beyar scorched a direct kick to tie the game at 2, and Meghan Hines hit the game-winning goal in the third — sudden death — overtime to win South Side's 14th county title in 15 years.

No. 2 — . The Cyclones baseball team took home its first Conference A-II championship in three years this year, but this was the Cyclones most exciting win of the season. Down 6-1 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, the Cyclones mounted their largest comeback of the year, scoring six times off New Hyde Park closer Nicholas Perrone after registering only two hits in the first six innings against starter Rob Scatorchio. Matt Sollin hit the game-winning double, stunning New Hyde Park and their fans.

No. 1 — . South Side was only a minute away from being named co-champions after a total of 119 scoreless minutes with Somers High School on Nov. 20 in the state championship game. Sophomore Katie Ford, however, headed a ball in with 1:01 remaining in the fourth overtime. The 1-0 final made the Lady Cyclones sole possessors of the Class A title under second-year head coach Shannon McEntee — their 16th state title.