Everybody in the Ralph Klein Centre gym knew it would come down to the final shot in Olds College's men's basketball game against the Briercrest College Clippers on Oct. 18.
But nobody expected it to be a buzzer-beating, half-court prayer banked off the glass by Phillip Jalalpoor that would give the Broncos men an 84-81 victory and 2-0 start to the ACAC season — two more wins than they've had all last year.
“It was a tough shot but I had a good look at half court and it was a straight shot so I just hoped for the best and it kind of worked out,” said Jalalpoor, who finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
Jalalpoor's shot was the second of two key plays the 6-foot 3-inch guard from Germany made in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter.
With the game tied at 78, Jalalpoor stole the ball off a Clippers inbound play and from the Broncos baseline, fired a pass upcourt to Kaleel Faiz, who finished a layup while getting fouled with 11.1 seconds remaining.
“I was pressuring the inbounds guy and he was trying to complain about me being so close. I kind of figured he was going to get pissed and try and throw it off me,” Jalalpoor said. “So in a second, I backed off and it bounced off my chest. I caught it and looked up the court and Kaleel (Faiz), like he always does, runs down the court perfectly. I hit him and he got the And-1.”
Faiz's free throw gave the Broncos an 81-78 lead.
In seconds, it looked like it would be all for naught when Clippers guard Ryan Penner drilled his fourth three-pointer of the afternoon to tie the game.
Penner finished with a game-high 28 points on 12 of 19 shooting to go with six rebounds and three assists.
But after Jalalpoor's last-second heroics, it looked like nothing could wipe the smile off Broncos head coach Ben Julius's face after following up his team's 113-74 win over Briercrest the night before.
“(Assistant) coach Steve (Anthony) called it from the bench. As soon as it left his hand, he said it was in,” Julius said about the final shot. “No expression. I was just watching it and it went in.”
Julius said his team's effort on the defensive end took a step back from the previous night but he was pleased with their determination to respond after a bad play.
“They continued to fight and that's all you can ask for at this point in the season,” he said.
The men's basketball team will next play back-to-back games against the Medicine Hat College Rattlers from October 24 to 25 before returning to host the Red Deer College Kings on Nov. 7.
Pull Quote
"As soon as it left his hand, he said it was in."- Broncos head coach Ben Julius
