James Reese V reflects on half-court buzzer-beater to beat Ole Miss in OT
Every athlete who’s ever picked up a basketball imagines themselves sinking a glorious buzzer-beater to win a game for their squad. Imagine no more, James Reese V. On Tuesday, dreams became reality for Reese and South Carolina, as the Gamecocks guard drained a half-court heave as the buzzer sounded to defeat Ole Miss.
Moreover, it was a hard-fought game. So much so, it had to be settled with overtime. To set the stage, it looked like the showdown had another chapter to be written, tied with 2.0 seconds left and double overtime on the horizon. Then, with two seconds left on the clock, Gamecock forward Jermaine Couisnard in-bounded the ball from underneath their basket. He was able to find Reese V at mid-court, who caught and launches the ball almost immediately. The bank was open late on Tuesday, as the ball bounced off the backboard and into the basket. South Carolina won, 77-74.
As you can see, it was an amazing moment. After the commotion, Reese V sat down and reflected on how it all went down.
“Man, you know Coach [Frank] Martin drew up a play — I was, I don’t want to say third option, but I was, you know, it was two guys getting to that spot before me to see if they were open,” stated Reese V. “All I had to do what just pop back to the ball.
“I mean, I work on half-court shots. Literally. I’m not just saying this. I work on them everyday. Me, Jermaine [Couisnard] and Devin [Carter]. And I just so happened to be in that position. Man, I just shot it like we be shooting it everyday. And it went in.”
Evidently, it wasn’t any accident that James Reese V sunk the shot he’s been practicing for every chance he gets.
Reese V: ‘The emotions that I felt was just crazy.’
Continuing, James Reese V detailed the feelings he had before and after the shot went in.
“The emotions that I felt was just crazy,” recollected Reese V. “I honestly was thinking about it right before it happened. Well, not right before it happened. Before we went into overtime the first time, I was just thinking like, ‘Man, somebody going to have to make a big shot.’ And first E (Erik Stevenson) made it. Then, the next one came to me.
“So it’s just kid of surreal right now. I feel good.”
James Reese V manifested it, and it came true. His gigantic shot helped South Carolina keep their season alive, and now the Gamecocks will look to use the momentum gained to go on a run.