Written by Sam Vecenie at CBSSports.com
We have an early contender for best game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
No. 12 seed Little Rock used what will be one of the more memorable comebacks in first-round history to knock off No. 5 Purdue 85-83 in double overtime.
With 3:33 left in regulation of Purdue’s game against Little Rock, it looked like the Boilermakers were going to pull out the win easily. It was 65-52, and the game was well in control as the Trojans offense scuffled along and struggled to get clean looks against Purdue’s size inside.
That’s when the Rock began its run.
The Trojans amped up their energy and started using a full-court press to take Purdue out of its rhythm. It worked, as the Boilermakers continued to turn the ball over and couldn’t establish any offense. Still though, Little Rock found itself down 3 with 10 seconds left. That’s when Josh Hagins took over.
Hagins knocked down a ridiculous, fadeaway 30-foot 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
In all, it was an 18-5 run that pushed the game into overtime. Hagins finished with 31 points, 29 of which came either in the second half or overtime. He also became the first player inNCAA Tournament history, according to Little Rock, to score at least 30 points, grab five rebounds, dish out five assists and get five steals in a game.
“I’m a senior,” Hagins said after the game. “I’ve waited 22 years, to be honest, to get to this point, this one game. I wasn’t going to go out like that. I wasn’t going to go without a fight. I made shots, missed them. I was going to go out swinging.”
Swing, he did. He simply took control of the game against Purdue’s guards, who struggled throughout the entire season to establish themselves consistently.
To continue reading this article, click here.
