Vermont must have recently made a deal with the basketball gods. That’s the only explanation for their absurd comeback Saturday against Yale.
Vermont trailed 65-60 with just 3.8 seconds left at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vt.
Vermont guard Aaron Deloney went the full length of the floor to score a layup and cut the deficit to 3. Given that the Catamounts didn’t have any timeouts left, the play left just 0.6 seconds on the clock.
All Yale had to do was successfully inbound the basketball. Even if Vermont stole the ball, they would’ve been hard-pressed to get a good look from behind the three-point arc.
Instead, Yale guard August Mahoney was called for an offensive foul before the inbound for pushing off on defender TJ Hurley. The turnover was the absolute worst-case scenario for the visitors given that it burned no time off the clock while allowing Vermont a final inbound play.
Vermont didn’t waste the chance they were given. Junior guard TJ Long was fouled shooting a three and sank the basket. His free throw with 0.3 seconds left completed the miraculous comeback as Vermont won 66-65.
VERMONT BASKETBALL. VERY COOL.
CC: @JonRothstein
— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) December 3, 2023
Vermont supporters were visibly heading for the exits as the final seconds unfolded.
Long poured in a season-high 23 points, capped off by the decisive 4-point play with less than a second to play.
Vermont preserved their undefeated record at home this season (5-0) with the comeback victory. The Catamounts improved to 7-2 for the season.
