The Chattanooga men’s basketball team improved to 8–3 with a win on Tuesday night against Gardner-Webb, thanks to a truly stunning buzzer beater.
The Mocs trailed 55–42 with 9:30 to play but stormed back to take a 66–64 lead on Tyler Millin’s three-pointer with 9.5 seconds left. Gardner-Webb tied the game on a driving layup by Caleb Robinson with 1.2 seconds on the clock, which set the stage for one of the most incredible game-winners of the season thus far.
After a timeout, Chattanooga’s Trey Bonham received an inbounds pass near half court and heaved the ball toward the basket. The shot banked off the backboard and through the hoop to give the Mocs at 69–66 victory. It was pandemonium inside the arena.
ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?! TREY BONHAM FROM HALF COURT!!! BALL GAME!!!!!! 🔥
— Chattanooga Basketball (@GoMocsMBB) December 20, 2023
MOCS WIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/jQbnp50BOq
Bonham’s big moment is even more unbelievable when you take into account that it was only his second game for Chattanooga. He began his college career at VMI before spending last year at Florida. This year, he transferred to Chattanooga (where he was reunited with former VMI coach Dan Earl) but because he’s a two-time transfer he needed a waiver from the NCAA to be allowed to play immediately. When a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order last week forbidding the NCAA from keeping two-time transfers sidelined, Bonham was cleared to make his Mocs debut. He had 14 points in the team’s win over Alabama A&M on Saturday.
Bonham also admitted that he usually doesn’t feel comfortable taking half-court shots.
“It’s funny because in shootaround at the end of practice, we are playing the coaches and you have to make seven threes from the top of the key, and then the last two shots have to be from half court,” Bonham said after the game, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "I'm not good at it, so I usually pass it to my teammates and I go get rebounds while they shoot from halfcourt.”
