“2.6 on the game clock, Malachi Hall controls, he puts up a shot……..”

On December 5, 2017, Cairn University defeated the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown College in a non-conference matchup.  Pretty standard right?  What would have gone down as a fairly insignificant, standard non-conference victory was quickly trumped by how it happened, and the publicity that was to come with such a dramatic finish.

With the game deadlocked at 83 with just under 30 seconds to play, Elizabethtown College controlled with a chance to win the game with a bucket.  The Blue Jays did just that, as Ethan Dubois buried a step back, corner jumper to essentially seal the victory, handing the Highlanders the loss.  

Everyone in the MAC that night thought the game was over, even the look on Head Coach Jason O’Connell’s face would have suggested he thought the game was over.  Quite possibly the only person who believed the Highlanders would come away with a victory was the man who hit the “Shot heard round Langhorne” Malachi Hall.

With 2.6 seconds on the game clock, Hall received the inbound and jolted up the floor as Elizabethtown sulked on defense, and with the clock almost fully expired, Hall chucked up a half-court heave out of desperation, and after what felt like an eternity, the shot fell.

Bedlam ensued. Fans proceeded to storm the floor, Malachi lept in celebration, and the announcer calling the game appeared to have hit puberty for the first time.

The publicity that followed was unlike anything any Highlander fan could have imagined.  Barstool Sports, Whistle Sports, and ESPN are just a few of the media outlets that drew attention to Malachi’s half-court heave.

So, with all that publicity, how does a team handle themselves after pulling a miracle?

You keep trudging forward, and you keep playing your game, something head coach Jason O’Connell has made a staple here at Cairn University since he took over a 2-win team back in 2014.  And that is exactly what Cairn University Basketball is going to do in their quest to qualify for the CSAC playoffs. 113 retweets and 245 likes later, Cairn University Basketball was not only on the map but a force to be reckoned with. Teams now know exactly what they are up against: a team that would never die, especially when they have a talented guard from Lower Merion running the offense for them.