Big Shots Close Out Two Men's Games

Just when it seemed that things couldn't get wackier in the MAAC of late ...

Two men's games ended in improbable fashion on Sunday.

Let's start with the proverbial highlight reel play.

Marist is ahead, 59-57, in the final minute of its own home game against Manhattan.

The Red Foxes have two one-and-one foul-shooting situations in the last 35 seconds, and miss both.

After the second miss Manhattan forward Demetrius Jemison grabbed the rebound and called a time out with 2.0 seconds remaining.

After a Manhattan timeout, George Beamon inbounded the ball on the Marist baseline. His precise pass caught Alvarado on the run as he dribbled up the court and launched the miraculous 3-pointer.

Alvarado's shot came from far beyond halfcourt and has been estimated at 65 or 70 feet out. The two dribbles enabled Alvarado to pick up the necessary momentum to launch the long-range bomb from the left side, and it banked in to beat the buzzer and give the Jaspers an improbable victory.

"With two seconds on the clock I knew I had at least one dribble, maybe two dribbles if I could sneak it in. After that I just let it go and hoped it went in," said Alvarado.

It went in. Until then Alvarado had shot 1-for-8 from the field. On the season the freshman guard has only hit 11-of-48 shots (22.9%) from beyond the 3-point stripe.

Here's a link to Alvarado's shot: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?DB_OEM_ID=12500&id=6074275

Very nice call by play-by-play man Doug Sherman on the replay: "The Jaspers lose a hearbreaker on Friday at Fairfield (a 61-59 loss), but they give the heartbreak to the Red Foxes on Sunday afternoon."

And, as if that wasn't enough of unlikely late-game heroics from this past Sunday ...

Siena trailed Niagara 56-54 with under two minutes remaining when an inside-out pass from forward O.D. Anosike found freshman guard Rakeem Brookins in the corner beyond the 3-point stripe.

Brookins calmly connected on the shot, giving the Saints a 57-56 lead with 1:40 left and Niagara never tied or led again.

Brookins had been 0-for-10 from the field in the first half and, prior to his big three-pointer, had made just 1-of-15 shots from the floor, that one a driving layup five minutes into the second half.
"I've said it right along, that Rakeem is a very unique player," said Siena coach Mitch Buonaguro. "That he would take that shot, after being 1-for-15 to that point, shows the kind of confidence he has."