High School Basketball Player Makes Miracle Shot in Alameda

Pandemonium erupted in a high school gym in Northern California on Friday night when a varsity basketball player made a miraculous full-court shot with less than a second left in the game.

With 0.6 seconds on the clock, Temidayo Yussuf, a forward for the basketball team at Alameda's St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, caught the ball after a missed free throw by El Cerrito High, and immediately fired it down the court.

The 17-year-old landed the 80-foot shot, sending the game into overtime. Hordes of fans, fellow players and cheerleaders swarmed the court in frenzied celebration.

However, the shot was not enough to win the game, and El Cerrito ultimately triumphed 71-64 in overtime.

"I thought we won -- usually that's a sign," St. Joseph's Coach Don Lippi said Wednesday.

"It's just that the shot was so incredible and people were amazed at what had happened," he said.

Although the Alameda team ended up losing, Yussuf's feat serves as a reminder that anything is possible, Lippi said.

"That's the beauty of the game -- in one second you're happy and in the next second, you're sad," Lippi said. "To have that emotional roller coaster is hard to deal with sometimes."

The coach credited his team for their level-headedness on the court.

He said Temidayo, a senior, is headed to California State University at Long Beach next year on a Division I basketball scholarship. 

Copyright BAYCN - Bay City News
Contact Us