TJ Long hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game then completed a four-point play to give Vermont a stunning 66-65 win at home over Yale on Saturday night.
The Catamounts inbounded the ball from underneath their own basket with 0.6 seconds left. Long caught the pass, squared himself up and launched the game-tying shot while being bumped by Yale’s August Mahoney and drawing the foul call.
“It was a great pass through traffic across the court,” Long said. “[Aaron Deloney] put it on me, and I didn’t have time to take any dribbles. Once I caught it, I just threw it up there, got lucky with the foul and banked it in.”
Vermont got the final chance after Mahoney was called for an offensive foul as the Bulldogs tried to inbound the ball and run out the final second of the game.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that in my career,” Catamounts coach John Becker said. “Unbelievable crowd tonight. You could just feel the crowd wanted to get us over the top; we just couldn’t provide enough plays to get any kind of run and build any kind of lead.
“Credit to Yale; they’re one of the best mid-major programs in the country.”
Long was 8-of-16 shooting and 6-for-10 from 3 for a game-high 23 points for the Catamounts (7-2). Shamir Bogues scored 14 points and added six rebounds, and Deloney scored 10 points.
The Bulldogs (5-4) were led by Bez Beng with 18 points. Yale also got 15 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks from Danny Wolf.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
