Palmer junior knocks down buzzer-beater, Moose edge Knights

PALMER - Connor Looney watched his teammate, Jared Straight, hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 33 seconds left. Then Looney watched an opponent, Colony sophomore Damien Fulp, bury another go-ahead trey with nine seconds to go.

But with 4.6 seconds left on the clock, Looney took care of things himself.

Looney knocked a deep shot off the glass from beyond the top of the three-point off at the buzzer to lift the Palmer Moose to a 59-57 win over the Colony Knights at Palmer High on Tuesday.

Palmer called a timeout with 4.6 seconds left and scripted a play for Looney. After the win, Looney said you have to greet the moment with confidence.

"You gotta know it's going in, you've gotta feel it," Looney said.

And Looney felt it. And he felt his teammates swarm, and fans from the student section spill onto the court after the big shot.

Looney's three, followed two other three-pointer which could also have been called game-winners. With the Moose trailing late, Straight hit a shot from deep in the left corner to give the Moose a 56-54 lead with 33 seconds left.

But Colony answered.

Fulp, Colony's lone sophomore on the varsity roster, looked like a veteran, nailing a three-pointer with nine seconds to go. Fulp and his teammates celebrated like they were winners.

But the Knights left too much time on the clock.

After Fulp's shot, Palmer inbounded the ball, moved across midcourt and quickly called a timeout. Looney said the Moose tried to keep their composure in the back-and-forth action.

"You've just got to keep your head up, no matter what," Looney said. "There's going to be those moments in the game when you're down, but you've just got to fight through it."

Looney not only hit the last shot, but scored a game-high 24 points to help the Moose erase an early double-digit deficit, and earn the victory. The junior guard hit four three-pointers in the win.

Colony led Palmer 27-10 at one point, and carried its advantage deep into the second half.

In girls' action earlier in the evening, Colony beat Palmer 34-20.

For complete coverage, see the Friday edition of the Frontiersman.