Wake Forest forward connects on 80-foot heave at buzzer
NEW YORK (AP) From 80 feet away, and right on the money!
Wake Forest reserve forward Greg McClinton electrified his teammates - and left the Brooklyn crowd buzzing - when he connected on an amazing heave from behind the elbow of his own foul line at the end of the first half Wednesday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament against Virginia Tech.
''Just flung it up and it went in,'' McClinton said after the Demon Deacons were eliminated with a 99-90 defeat.
With a second on the clock, the Hokies tried a long pass from their own baseline to the other end of the court. The pass missed its intended target, McClinton grabbed the loose ball on one bounce and let fly with a one-handed fling just before the horn sounded.
Lo and behold, the ball went in - to the surprise of everyone in the arena. Indeed, even McClinton had started to turn away and head for the locker room before the ball went through.
Excited teammates mobbed McClinton on the baseline as he raised his arms and the Barclays Center crowd roared. Officials reviewed the replay, and the basket counted.
With his first career 3-pointer, the redshirt junior gave the Demon Deacons a 44-37 lead at the break.
They were the only points of the night for McClinton, who played all of two minutes.
