Schneider wins game with Pavilion-shaking trey in final 1.7 seconds against CSUN.
Cal State Northridge held the lead 60-58 with 40 seconds left on the clock. The intense two-point game was tough for the Aggies, but it came to a quick shift when senior forward Josh Fox made a layup to tie the game at 60-60. Calling a timeout, the Aggies approached their coach with open ears. Is there any time to execute a play?
UC Davis immediately called timeout in an effort to draw up what could be the final play of the game. The Pavilion was left without a single person sitting and the Band-Uh!’s tune became remarkably more powerful as the trumpet players blew with their last breath and, like the players on the court, were left winded.
The plan? Get the ball to Josh Fox.
“The play at the end of the game resembled nothing of what we had drawn up,” said UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les. “The only thing they did get right was Silar [Schneider] was supposed to be on [Josh] Fox’s side.”
With the Matadors in possession of the ball at the end of the two 30 second timeouts, they ran the clock down again. With nearly 12 seconds left, a layup from CSUN rolled off the rim into the basket.
Aggie ball.
“We figured if Josh [Fox] got the attention we thought, Silar [Schneider, freshman guard] was going to be in a good spot to load one in,” Les said.
Junior guard Brynton Lemar dribbled the ball to half court and passed it to Fox. As the coaching staff anticipated, Fox drew in two defenders, but instead of faking a shot to tie the game, the expected star player passed the ball over a Matador and into the hands of Schneider, who was patiently waiting at the right corner.
“He found me in a good spot so that was that,” Schneider said.
Schneider scored the trey to win the game with 1.7 seconds on the clock. The buzzer sounded and the Aggies picked up their first Big West Conference win, 63-62.
“That kid has got absolutely incredible moxie and confidence and mental toughness,” Les said in response to Schneider’s buzzer beating shot.
The freshman led the team with 17 points followed by Fox and Lemar with 13 and 10, respectively. Some key shots taken throughout the game were the result of rebounds collected by senior center Neal Monson, who had a game-high of 13 rebounds.
Throughout his course of play, Schneider nearly reached the maximum amount of infractions. With 11 minutes left in the game, his fourth foul came as a result of being one of two players involved in a technical foul.
“[Jim Les] just said I gotta be smart,” Schneider said. “He wasn’t too happy, but I mean, he shouldn’t be.”
Although he had no family in the crowd, fans old and new could be heard yelling, “Put Silar back in the game!” as precautions were taken early on to avoid him being fouled out.
The Aggies have a week to prepare for their next home game on Jan. 21 against UC Riverside.
Written by Veronica Vargo – sports@theaggie.org
