Georgia Southern rallies to win on last-second four-point play
With a three-point lead and only 5.5 seconds left in the game, Appalachian State's worst-case scenario on Monday night should have been surrendering a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime.
Somehow, the Mountaineers managed to lose in regulation anyway.
Georgia Southern's Mike Hughes sank a last-second 35 footer as Appalachian State senior Chris Burgess bumped into him contesting the shot. Hughes then calmly sank the go-ahead free throw with 0.8 seconds to go in the game, completing a four-point play that gave the Eagles an improbable 101-100 Sun Belt Conference victory.
"That was one of the crazier finishes of any college basketball game that I've ever been a part of," Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington told his school's athletics site. "I'm proud of the guys for not giving up. It definitely looked like everything was against us."
Hughes, a 6-foot-3 sophomore making his return to his native North Carolina, scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Eagles. He had nine of his team's last 12 points, rallying Georgia Southern from an eight-point deficit in the final 2:36.
Applachian State's latest loss was a bitter development for a struggling team that is 5-14 so far this season. Coach Jim Fox's decision not to foul intentionally before Georgia Southern could get a shot off backfired, though Fox did not agree with referee's decision to award Hughes the chance at a four-point play.
"I didn’t think he got fouled," Fox told the Winston-Salem Journal. "Guy fires up a 35-footer and the guy made the call. I’m not going to say anything that’s going to get me in trouble."
(Thanks, CBSSports.com)
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
