Columbus East graduate Bryce Lienhoop made the No. 1 play on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top 10 from Tuesday night with his scoop shot that forced a second overtime in St. Francis’ 98-97 Crossroads League win against Marian.
Lienhoop’s scoop shot came on a play that started on an inbounds play with eight-tenths of a second left in the first overtime and the Cougars trailing by two points.
“Chandler (White) made a great pass to the other side of the block, and luckily, I caught it and got it up before the buzzer, and it went it,” Lienhoop told saintfranciscougars.com.
The Cougars (8-2, 2-0), ranked third in the country in this week’s NAIA poll, won with another buzzer beater in the second overtime. Columbus North graduate Evan Henry threw a pass to Derek Hinen, who hit a fadeaway for the one-point win.
Lienhoop, a senior, finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Henry, also a senior, added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.
“Great to be on the winning side of a game like this,” Lienhoop said. “Definitely a lot better to learn from a win than a loss. That was an incredible shot by Derek. I was underneath and by the flight of the ball, I knew it was gonna be good. I’m sure my heart rate skyrocketed in that moment.”
Lienhoop is the second former East player to be part of SportsCenter’s No. 1 play this college basketball season. Parker Chitty, a sophomore at Bellarmine, was in the area when a Louisville player did a reverse dunk in an exhibition game Nov. 7.
