It’s incredible how two long shots can change a game.
Put a handful of seconds on the clock and a defensive scheme in the way, and it sounds a lot like Mission: Impossible.
Just don’t tell Burnaby’s Aldrich Berrios that.
The UBC-Okanagan Heat’s second-year guard accomplished a basketball trifecta Saturday when he erased a three-point deficit and capped an 87-84 win over the Mount Royal Cougars in Canada West men’s basketball action.
Two baskets and one win – in under six seconds.
The Kelowna-based Heat had no timeouts remaining and trailed 84-81 when Berrios took the in-bound, dribbled a few steps shy of the three-point line and drained a shot to tie the game with 5.6 seconds left.
Mount Royal’s in-bound alley-oop pass soared out and turned the ball over to Randall Mosca. Berrios took the in-bound pass, one long stride and threw up a long shot from half-court that beat the buzzer to the hoop for the win.
“The two big shots I hit were just bound to happen whether by me or by someone else on the team,” said Berrios. “We just had a feeling. That was our game to win, our game to take, and we did it.”
The Notre Dame alumnus counted 21 points on the day, including three treys – although needing just a second to cash in two of those shots. Berrios leads the team with a 17.7 points per game average.
His achievement earned him a Canada West weekly honour.
