2 Halfcourt Shots and a $10,000 Controversy
There’s nothing quite like the sound of the swish after a college basketball player launches a ball from halfcourt. This week we were graced with two incredible halfcourt shots, although technically neither of them were from halfcourt.
The most impressive make was much farther than the halfcourt line, and it served as a game-winner. Marist was on the road at Fairfield, looking for a victory to preserve a three-way tie at the Top of the MAAC. The Stags from Fairfield were sub-.500, but scrapped together a tie ballgame at the end of regulation. Technically, it wasn’t the end of regulation.
Deon Perry only had 1.1 seconds to get a shot off before overtime. He got a running start from 75 feet. You can hear the buzzer sound as it sails through the air on its way through the hoop. Fairfield won 59-56 on a miraculous three-pointer, just their fourth make of the night.
UMass Student Loses $10,000 on Halfcourt Shot Technicality
The only thing better than a halfcourt shot to win a game is a halfcourt shot to win $10,000, until they take the money away from you. Of the hundreds of fans attending a UMass women’s basketball game, the admins picked the wrong one to shoot for $10,000.
You’ve seen contests like this before. Hit a layup, free throw, three-pointer, and a halfcourt shot within 30 seconds, and you win the grand prize. Typically, the first three go down pretty easily. There’s just not enough time to get multiple halfcourt shots off, so you need to be darn-near perfect for a chance to win. This UMass student was perfect, well, almost perfect.
The person who shared the video, Josh Schreiber, states in his bio that he is the voice of UMass women’s basketball. That made it even more shocking that he fired off a few messages criticizing his employer.
According to Schreiber, insurance for OddsOn Promotions is claiming the UMass student’s foot was on the line for the halfcourt shot, ruling it null and void. Instead of the $10,000 grand prize, they offered the student suite tickets to a UMass game, a chance to shoot for $1,000 during the game, courtside seats to a women’s game, concession stand gift cards, and a swag bag of UMass gear.
That’s not $10,000.
As crummy as this ordeal sounds, the good news is that it sounds like UMass is going to get that student the money he earned with that incredible performance. UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said on social media, “We’re working on getting $10K to Noah. If we can’t get to a good result via the insurance company, we will pay him directly.”
