(EDITOR’S NOTE

: This is the second in a series of articles by Times News writer Rich Strack. After writing about his “Greatest Games” in sports history in the opening series, he will now offer his thoughts on the “Greatest Comebacks.” Throughout the upcoming weeks, Strack will give his list of the top comebacks in different sports. Today’s topic is college basketball.)

By Rich Strack

tnsports@tnonline.com

In this difficult time of a health crisis, the matter of sports competition that brings so much recreational joy to millions of Americans has been rightfully postponed.

Every level from the professional and college ranks down to high school spring sports will have empty stadiums, ball fields, and tracks for the foreseeable future.

But if you’re a fan like me, with many years of devotion to athletic competition, some of the greatest events from the past are still being played in your memory rewind.

So sit back and let me distract you from public concerns for just a moment with Part 6 of a series on the “Greatest Comebacks” that will remain forever in my personal Hall of Fame

Today I give you three of the best college basketball come-from-behind games of my lifetime.

Jan. 27, 2001

Maryland vs Duke

The game between the second-ranked Blue Devils and the eighth-ranked Terrapins will forever to be remembered as “The Miracle Minute.”

Maryland was leading by 10 points at 90-80 with just 54 seconds left to play. Duke’s Jason Williams was having a bad game up to this point, but he scored eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, in a 13-second span that included two Maryland turnovers to pull the Blue Devils within 90-88 with 41 seconds remaining.

Maryland turned the ball over again on the ensuing possession, and then fouled Nate James as he attempted to put back a missed shot. James sank both free throws to tie the game. The Terrapins missed a last-second shot, sending the game into overtime.

Shane Battier scored the final six points of the extra session for the Blue Devils with a three-pointer and three key free throws - and then blocked a Juan Dixon shot in the final seconds that could have tied the game, giving Duke one of the most improbable wins of all time.

1999

USC vs. Oregon

How can you have a five-point lead with three seconds to play and lose the game?

Let’s back up and see how this happened.

Oregon (9-3) had a 15-point lead on USC with eight minutes left in the game thanks to the hot shooting of Alex Scales and Frederick Jones.

But the Trojans (10-2) were starting to heat up as well, as they made nine of 13 three-point attempts in the second half.

Even when Ducks’ guard Terik Brown came off the bench to make three long-range baskets, USC’s Adam Spanich was keeping his team close as he matched Brown nearly shot-for-shot.

USC, which never led in the game, was still down five with just under three seconds left when the impossible became incredible.

Down 84-79, Spanich nailed a three for USC at the 2.8 second mark. With his team still trailing by a basket, Spanich sprinted back and stole the inbounds pass at half court and let go with a Hail Mary bomb that hit nothing but net at the buzzer.

Eight thousand screaming Oregon fans were silenced, and no one could believe that within three seconds, Spanich had scored six points to allow USC to pull out a crazy victory.

2005 Elite Eight

Arizona vs Illinois

With a 29-1 record and a Big Ten championship, Illinois was the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. It encountered an Arizona Wildcat team that had built a 15-point lead with just over four minutes left in the game.

But beginning with a Luther Head three-pointer, Illinois started to make a comeback. With 48 seconds on the clock, the Illini’s Dee Brown swiped a pass and finished a fast break layup to bring the score to 80-77. Pressing full court on all the following possessions, Illinois again stole the ball and All American guard Deron Williams drained a sidestep three that tied the game at 80-80 at the end of regulation.

Williams kept his hot hand in overtime, and the Illini lead 86-80 with 1:45 to go in OT. The Wildcats battled back to trail by one, but a last-second shot caromed off the backboard, sending Illinois to the Final Four.

Final thoughts

A few seconds can make a big difference, especially in a basketball game. Duke’s Williams scored eight points in 13 seconds. USC’s Spanich scored six points in under three seconds, and Illinois wiped out a five-point Arizona lead in a half minute.

These games bring me to the significance a timekeeper has upon the game. For 30 years, I operated the clock and the scoreboard for the Colonia High School Patriots in New Jersey. There were more than a few times in which I literally held a last second outcome of a game on my index finger.

Perhaps the game I remember best is when Red Bank led Colonia in a state playoff game by one point with five seconds to play. I was poised and ready with my finger on the toggle switch when the Patriots inbounded a pass. Then, Colonia’s bench stood up to see the play, blocking my view. The official, who had come to the table during the timeout, told me to watch his hand drop to start the clock.

I stood up and could barely see his hand drop over the wall of players in front of me. I never saw the shot taken, but I could see the ball clang off the backboard and into the net. I could hear no whistle, nor see a timeout called, so I let the clock run out.

While the fans stormed the court, the Red Bank coach shouted at me that he called a timeout after the ball went into the basket, but the official came running over to tell him the TO was called too late.

A clock operator unintentionally contributes to the score of the game. He might stop the clock a few seconds late after whistles are blown, or let it run too long after a pass goes out of bounds. Seconds lost here or there can impact who ultimately wins the game.

After 30 years at CHS, I walked away from the scorers table wondering how many times I had decided who won and who lost using only the tip of my index finger.