The Greatest Comeback In Basketball History

[Marcskit]

The greatest comeback in Basketball history.

I will set the scene for you. It’s the 1989- 1990 season. Butte College vs Shasta College
Butte took a pounding all night, and with ( 1:31 seconds ) left in the game, Shasta led 89-71.

That’s 18 points in 91 seconds for the math challenged. I myself do hunter gather math, two squirrels and two rabbits are four.

Coach Abell pulls all his starters. Subs come in and immediately full court press and get five turnovers in a row. Five times they pull up for 3 pointers and make them all, eventually Butte ties the game at 89 apiece with seconds left. Previously Shasta missed 5 one and ones.

The game goes into overtime and Shasta goes up eleven points with 2 minutes. Butte fouls and again Shasta misses several one and ones. Again Butte ties the game with 0.1 seconds left on a free throw.

Double overtime and Butte finally pulls away for a one point win. How would you have liked to have been at that game !

You can read this and other bits of information in the book. The history of Butte College Men’s Basketball by Thomas Charles Anderson.
The book gives a nice insight into the early history of Junior College hoops.

Here’s wishing you great hoops

 

[CoachRRich]

Don't write on here often but I will share one just as good from back in the day ; )

1985 Playoff game - Cal vs. Foothill (Pleasanton) Watching from the stands as a JV player at Foothill.
Foothill down 4 with 2 seconds left (no 3-point line yet) in the second OT and there is a jump ball - literally a good old fashion jump ball. Cal player fouls Foothill player on the jump! But now down to 1 second. Foothill player hits the first FT in the bonus. 1 second left, down 3, no 3-point line - game over right? Wrong! Foothill player intentionally misses the 2nd FT, Jeff Reiter of Foothill jumps into the lane, catches the miss in mid-air, tips it in at the buzzer AND is fouled - by the same Cal player as on the jump ball! Cal coach has lost his mind! Reiter hits the FT to send it on to the third OT. Foothill finally wins it by one in the 4th or 5th OT (can't remember ; ) on a 75 foot shot with the buzzer sounding while the ball was in flight. Greatest HS game I've ever witnessed. I think Jeff Delaveaga was playing for Cal and had like 40 + points.

 

[SmoothJay]

Why would Cal coach line up his players for the rebound on a free throw with 1 second up 3. Horrible coaching to allow the possibility of a 3 point play

 

[sid98765]

Former Duke player Jon Scheyer scored 21 points in 75 seconds in a high school game while he was in h.s. at Glenbrook North in Illinois. There is a Youtube video.

 

[CoachRRich]

Why would Cal coach line up his players for the rebound on a free throw with 1 second up 3. Horrible coaching to allow the possibility of a 3 point play

I believe you had to have defensive players lined up. He was frantically waiving before the FT to get back and hands straight up. That Cal player had the worst 2 seconds of his career ; )

 

[kiddman32]

... Foothill finally wins it by one in the 4th or 5th OT (can't remember ; ) on a 75 foot shot with the buzzer sounding while the ball was in flight. Greatest HS game I've ever witnessed. I think Jeff Delaveaga was playing for Cal and had like 40 + points.

I remember that game... Didn't see it (I was at another playoff game), but I surrrrrrre heard about it... Yes, it was FIVE freaking OT's!

I happened to got to Foothill's next game, a couple nights later against the winner of the game I'd seen the night of their win. Poor Foothill... They had ZERO legs left! I think they got blown out by 40 or so... Sure would have liked to have seen that 5 OT battle...

To go in a very slightly different direction... Anyone remember (imho) the greatest game-winning shot in NCS Playoff history? And who did it? Nope, not Jason Kidd or Ivan Rabb or Kyree Walker or any other basketball superstar that eassily comes to mind... Not even a member of a perennial-powerhouse team like O'Dowd or DLS or Berkeley or Mack in their heydays... Not even famous outside his high school for playing hoops!

Future football stud JACK DEL RIO playing, well just about anyplace the Hayward Farmers needed him on the floor... Sorta like a poor man's high-school-level Draymond Green if ya will... Game at Hayward State (or whatever it was called back then), first round NCS. I was there in the stands...

I think the Farmers were 7 or 8-seed, but they hung right in there with their favored opponent (can't remember who they were) and finally got it down to the point where Hayward had the ball, Del Rio handling the ball from up top with just 10-15 seconds left, Hayward down by one point. The play gets broken up, ball loose and heading off a Hayward player toward the baseline, clock almost to zero... Here comes Del Rio, races and dives to grab the ball, body parallel to and maybe two feet above the ground... Just about to hit the end wall, but is able to turn and fire a floater high over the corner of the backboard just before he goes out-of-bounds... Buzzer..... SWISH! Mob! Place goes wacko! Hayward wins by one! That was a one-in-a-zillion play!

(btw, if I'm remembering correctly, the Farmers lost the next night, but I bet nobody who played for either team that night ever forgot that shot)

Memories are fun!

 

[observer22]

The Del Rio shot was against Berkeley in either 1980 or 1981. In both years, the Farmers beat Berkeley by 1, and then lost to BOD by 2 the next night. Those were the days when all the best teams were in the top division and there were great matchups every game.