Sports

UC Irvine Loses NIT After Player Misses Wide Open Layup That Would Have Been Game-Winning Buzzer Beater

#nit
by
Chattanooga players celebrate after beating UC-Irvine in NIT championship

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


Every basketball player dreams of getting the chance to hit a buzzer-beater to win a championship. Unfortunately, one UC Irvine player will probably end up reliving a nightmare after missing a wide-open layup that would have clinched the NIT crown.

There was once a time when the NIT was viewed as the premier college basketball postseason event before the NCAA Tournament swooped in to steal the crown.

It may have lost a lot of its luster (especially after the introduction of the College Basketball Crown), but there are still plenty of schools that are happy to compete in the showdown that’s largely viewed as a consolation prize (they end up receiving $4,000 for each game they play while having their travel and lodging expenses covered by the NCAA).

The 32 teams that got the nod this year kicked off the NIT a few weeks ago before the field was narrowed down to the last two squads left standing: Chattanooga and UC Irvine, who faced off for all the marbles at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Thursday night.

The Anteaters headed into the contest as 3.5-point favorites, and we were treated to an incredibly tight showdown that saw the Mocs make their way to the locker room up one at the half after Trey Bonham hit a half-court shot to give Chattanooga the 38-37 lead.

That ended up being a fairly consequential bucket in a contest that saw the two teams tied at 76 points at the end of regulation, and we were treated to fantastic five minutes of free basketball as the back-and-forth affair picked up where it left off.

The stage was set for a dramatic finish when UC Irvine got the chance to inbound and drive the length of the court for a game-winner trailing by a score of 85-84 with 2.4 seconds left on the clock.

Devin Tillis ended up heaving the ball down to Bent Leuchten, who caught it before quickly connecting with Jurian Dixon. He had a wide-open look directly under the basket, but his layup attempt bounced off the rim in heartbreaking fashion to seal the deal for Chattanooga.

It’s easy to blame Dixon for missing the shot and failing to use the glass while attempting it, but he was clearly in a rush to get it off as quickly as possible to make sure it got out of his hands before the buzzer sounded.

However, that’s still a brutal way to lose a game.