It is the putback basket that might be debated and replayed over and over – at least for the Pacific Lutheran men in the next 48 hours.
George Fox got its prayers answered at the buzzer – or maybe after it – when Mike Taylor’s missed 3-pointer, which seemed to be the final shot of the game, was tipped in by teammate Anthony Sanchez for the winner, lifting the Bruins to a 53-52 Northwest Conference victory in Newberg, Ore.
The game, which had been scheduled for Friday but was postponed because of flooding, was made up Sunday.
PLU, which saw its three-game winning streak halted, took a 52-51 lead on Cameron Schilling’s jumper with 10 seconds to go.
“To fight back like that, and have that kind of thing happen – it is tough to take,” PLU coach Steve Dickerson said.
The lead changed hands six times in the final eight minutes – with the Bruins (9-8 overall, 6-2 NWC) taking a 51-50 lead on two free throws by Sean Atkins with 4 minutes, 43 seconds to go.
Both teams then went cold, setting up a wild last half-minute.
Still trailing, PLU (8-9, 5-3) got the ball back and called timeout with 26.9 seconds to go. James Conti came off a double screen and hit Schilling near the elbow, and the junior hit a fadeaway 14-footer with 10 seconds remaining to give the Lutes the lead.
George Fox rushed back the other way, and Taylor forced up a shot with two seconds remaining – which hit only Sanchez’s hands on the weak side. He alertly got the ball back up for the putback.
“It is debatable (on whether it should have counted),” Dickerson said. “But you lose games in the first half, not in the last second.”
PLU trailed by as many as 10 points late in the first half.
WOMEN
At George Fox 71, PLU 51: The Lutes led for much of the first half, but Keisha Gordon’s 3-pointer with 4:14 to go gave the third-ranked Bruins the lead for good in a makeup game in Newberg.
Gordon led George Fox (16-0, 7-0) with 18 points. Katelyn Smith led all scorers for the Lutes with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
After a Shelly Kilcup made a 3-pointer to put PLU (5-11, 2-5) up 23-17 with 81/2 minutes remaining in the first half, the Bruins closed the half on a 20-4 run.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.