A few weeks ago, All Star Video Sports was able to capture an unbelievable sporting event that is quite rare to behold, a walk-off, three point buzzer-beater shot to win the game!

I was actually scheduled to shoot a state regional championship game for a men’s high school basketball team that night, but “The Shot”, was made in the game before the game we were scheduled to shoot, in a high school women’s state regional championship game. To test some video settings before the men’s game, I started shooting video on the women’s game with about 5 minutes left on the clock…and I am so glad I did!

Although the shot was amazing to behold, and the video footage of the shot was awesome, the story leading up to that shot was also pretty incredible.

The team that made the shot, the Heritage Christian Academy Chargers, had a losing record going into that game. At 8-12, the Chargers were facing the Pleasanton Blu-Jays, sitting nicely on a 13-6 record. The winner would make it to the state tournament.

Leading up to the shot, the Chargers had held a substantial lead against the Blu-Jays for virtually the whole basketball game. As I was watching the game, I remember thinking how good the Chargers looked and how in control they seemed against Pleasanton throughout the evening.

With 4 minutes and 30 seconds to go, Pleasanton was down by 9 points, but they surged back and were tied with the Chargers at a score of 46-46 with only :07 left on the clock. With :03 left on the clock, the Blu-Jays scored on a hard-pressed layup, with an additional foul on Heritage, to put the Blu-Jays up by two with one shot left from the free-throw line.

The Blu-Jays, being down the whole game, looked like they had the Chargers heading home without a state berth. But, the Heritage Christian women did not back down.

As the free-throw shot from Pleasanton ricocheted three times on the inside of the basket and jumped out of the hoop, a rebound, a quick pass, and a heave from behind the half-court line was all the Chargers needed to stun every single person in the building that day.

The shot itself was a thing of beauty. As the ball started its ascent into the air, I remember briefly thinking, “Wouldn’t that be epic if it went in?”. In the moment, it was as if the ball seemed to continue to go exactly where it was supposed to go if it were to make it into the hoop. A second later, and the ball popped into the basket after one bank. IT ACTUALLY WENT IT!

Pandemonium broke loose everywhere in the gym. The Heritage Christian bench came streaking on the court, along with all of their fans from the stands. Blu-Jay players and fans are stunned, standing with mouths wide open. The men’s teams scheduled to play in the game after are jumping up and down in excitement and disbelief. I even caught myself saying, “Oh my gosh!” while shooting on the camera, later hoping I didn’t ruin the sound coming from the cheers on the court.

The half-court miracle shot was made by Asya Benally, a junior, to bring Heritage Christian the sub-state regional title and a state tournament berth. What an ending!

Recalling the event brings a smile to my face, and I’m sure to any current and former Chargers out there.

 

Enjoy watching the moment again, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvT3IdVBYkM