Holiday Clutch Moments
Over the course of the last week of watching holiday basketball tournaments, I had a chance to witness some clutch last-second performances. It was good to see kids step up to the moment and provide some dramatic moments during the…
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Continue ReadingOver the course of the last week of watching holiday basketball tournaments, I had a chance to witness some clutch last-second performances. It was good to see kids step up to the moment and provide some dramatic moments during the holiday season. Here are some of those top moments, many which I had a chance to see for myself.
*Perhaps the biggest shot of the holidays came in the quarterfinals of the Blue & Gold Tournament in Springfield when guard Sam Bird of Willard tossed in a contested 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer to force an overtime. Willard went on to win the game in overtime and advance all the way to the championship game as an unseeded team. To quote the late Boston Celtics play-by-play man Johnny Most, “What a play by Bird!!”
*2017 Guard Brandon McKissic of SLUH scored on a driving layup with 10 seconds left to give the Jr. Billikens of 49-48 victory over Webster Groves in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament. McKissic has made it a habit of making game-winning buckets throughout his standout career.
*2017 Guard Isaiah Wilson of Father Tolton knocked down a fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie Raytown South and force overtime in the consolation finals of the Joe Machens Great 8 in Jefferson City. Tolton went on to win the game in overtime 83-80 as the 6’0″ Wilson finished with 25 points.
*2018 forward Matt Leritz of SLUH made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to tie St. Mary’s and force overtime in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament. Although SLUH lost the game in overtime, those clutch free throws will go down in tournament folklore as a memorable moment.
*2017 forward River Rhodes of Ladue knocked down a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Rams a 66-64 victory over Whitfield in the quarterfinals of the MICDS Tournament. Ladue went on to win the championship of the tournament.
*2018 forward Adam Moore of Duchesne scored on an offensive rebound with 3.9 seconds left to give the Pionners a 48-46 victory over Trinity in the consolation semifinals of the MICDS Tournament. Trinity nearly took the victory in dramatic fashion, but a potential game-winning 3-pointer by freshman Rashad McDaniel went in and out.
*In the third-place game of the MICDS Tournament, Parkway South held a 3-point lead over Pattonville and fouled Pattonville’s Destan Williams with 3.9 seconds left to prevent a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Williams made the first free throw to cut the lead to two points, then missed the second free throw intentionally. Teammate Greg Robinson picked up the offensive rebound on the back side and scored a layup at the buzzer to force overtime. Pattonville went on to win the game in overtime and take third place.
(Sam Bird photo courtesy of SWMO Basketball)