With 13.1 seconds left in the Purdue-Rutgers prime time men’s college basketball game Thursday night, Ron Harper Jr. made the seemingly game winning basket to put Rutgers up 66-67. Purdue is the No. 1 team in the country and should’ve never let unranked Rutgers be in this position.
But with Harper Jr. making that shot, most people watching thought the game was likely over. Surprisingly, however, Purdue was able to drive down and Trevion Williams made an easy driving layup with 3.4 seconds left.
This was an incredible play that most teams could’ve prevented and was one that certainly won the game for Purdue. Then, with no timeouts, Mawot Mag inbounded the ball to Ron Harper Jr., who dribbled just across the half-court line and unleashed an impossible shot from the big “R” logo.
The ball rattled through as time expired and the fans rushed the court! This 70-68 win for Rutgers is the biggest upset of the season so far. Not only was Purdue No. 1, but hadn’t lost a game until that fateful half-court prayer from Harper.
“I huddled these guys up, and I’m like, God forbid they score, give me the ball, and I’m going to send them home,” said Harper, a 6-foot-6 senior who came in averaging 14.8 points per game. “Mawot found me quickly and I was able to cut up the court in like three seconds and I threw one up.”
“We just kept hanging around, fighting,” said Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell. “It didn’t look like it was going our way a few times and they just stayed the course and made big plays and big stops.”
This was the very first week Purdue had ever been ranked No. 1, and it’s going to be a very brief stay. Come Monday they will drop down and Rutgers can hopefully use this amazing victory to inspire them to win many more.
And Ron Harper Jr. will try to continue to defy the odds and keep making spectacular plays like his father did when he played with Michael Jordan and those great Chicago Bulls teams of the 1990’s.
Article by: Chris Steele, iHearts143Quotes Team member
Winning shot clip:
