Over the years there have been many exciting ends to basketball games all over the country, but one on Sunday may have been the best ever, as New Rochelle earned an improbable victory by hitting a last-second half-court shot as time expired to upset Mount Vernon in Sunday's New York Section 1 Class AA championship game.
According to ESPN.com, the team won after Khalil Edney hit a 55-foot, one-handed shot at the end of regulation to take the game 61-60 over third-seeded Mount Vernon in Sunday's New York Section 1 Class AA championship. The shot came after two steals within three seconds of the end of the game and the shot left Edney's hands as the clock ticked to zero.
"I can't believe it happened. I'm in shock right now," Edney told ESPNNewYork.com during a telephone interview hours after he made the impossible happen.
The play has been shown on ESPN and SportsCenter and even New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith tweeted about it. The play was extremely rare, as the ball changed possession twice in a short amount of time before the shot attempt.
Edney had the ball first and inbounded it from under his basket before the ball was intercepted by a Mount Vernon player. That player then tossed the ball in the air since time was expiring, but instead Edney caught the ball and tossed it out of his hands just as time expired, landing the improbable shot for the victory.
At first referees ruled the shot no good as teammates ran around the court, but they reversed the decision after the replay showed that he let go of the ball at about the 0.1 second mark.
"I just threw it up. I thought it was gonna bounce off the front rim, but it was all net," Edney said. "I couldn't believe it.
Edney finished with seven points and nine rebounds as the 13-9 New Rochelle team came back from a 10 point lead to win the game.
"Sure, I've made half-court shots in practice, but nothing like this, not that far, not with one hand, not with the game on the line," he said.
The team now will advance to the state playoffs, which starts on Tuesday.
