5 seconds left and SCSU is trailing, blowing a once double-digit point lead, all the players are tired but this one shot could bring all the energy back.
Owls leading scorer Josh McGettigan shoots from downtown and misses the basket with a doink. The Southern crowd falls silent as the New Haven faithful get charged up as McGettigan’s face disappears under his jersey.
The miss would then cause SCSU to intentionally foul, giving rival UNH free throw shots with about 4 seconds left. Now needing a downtown basket to just tie the game, McGettigan throws the ball into Marty Silvera.
Silvera runs down the court and then hits up McGettigan with a backhand pass behind the three-point line. All set up, McGettigan got the ball out and got a nothing but a net buzzer beater from downtown to send the rivalry affair into overtime.
There’s one thing inaccurate about the above paragraph: McGettigan did get the basket, but the ball left his hands about a second after the buzzer went off.
After the referees talked the play over briefly, it would stand and overtime basketball would start.
The sub .500% New Haven squad gave Southern a run for their money, but would end up falling, 78-74 in OT.
Every loss has a bad taste, but this one hit different. Coming back from a 10+ point deficit to have a botched ref call send the game into overtime where you lose against a city rival — Ouch.
Nevertheless, Josh McGettigan was able to lock himself in the winning mindset, which is impressive considering it was just moments after he missed what was then the biggest shot of the game.
I can’t help but feel bad for New Haven. Now 5-9 and 4 games below .500%, but this isn’t a losing team. It seems like all season they’ve been dealt bad hands. The Chargers actually had more total season points coming in against the then 10 win Owls (913-912). A true tale of two teams.