Albury crumpled at midcourt as his teammates surged onto the Xfinity Center hardwood, swarming him in glee as a dream that started in despair four years earlier finally came true.

“I couldn’t keep my emotions in check,” he said. “I just fell to the ground, and everyone just jumped on top of me like I fumbled the football or something.”

When Northeast (22-5) received its medals, Albury went last and received the loudest cheers. The diminutive guard, who played all 32 minutes and dazzled by overcoming his size disadvantage with crafty finishes around the rim, received his and turned to the Eagles’ fans.

He pointed to his right ring finger, and the crowd roared.

“We end our career off with a ‘W.’ A lot of people can’t say they did that,” Albury said.

Senior forwards Shamar Johnson and Jadyss Fifer scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. Johnson added a team-high 10 rebounds.

Northeast had a 12-point lead in the second quarter but was outscored by 14 by St. Charles (20-6) in a dismal third.

“Everybody was trying to do too much,” Coach Roger O’Dea said.

Albury drove to the rim early in the final frame but was blocked by senior forward Tajir Webster, who stared down the 5-foot-8, 150-pounder.

Undeterred, Albury kept plunging into the paint. He grabbed a steal and drove downcourt with under three minutes left, finishing through a foul and completing the and-one to cut the deficit to three. The final basket of his high school career — the title-winner — was also a layup.

“Cam just took over,” O’Dea said.

In 2020, Northeast was in the state semifinals before the pandemic ended its run and the careers of a host of seniors. One of them, Albury’s brother, Jaylin, was a star guard.

Albury shares the No. 0 with Jaylin and often wears his old gear. But he didn’t want to be defined through his brother, O’Dea said, and worked hard to chisel his own legacy.

He became the centerpiece of O’Dea’s strategy to rebuild the Eagles, which involved cutting some juniors and seniors to make way for multiple sophomores.

Albury was one of them, kicking off a run that made him the program’s all-time leading scorer and now one of its first state champions.