With one and a half seconds left in the second round of the basketball playoffs, the score was 48 to 47 in favor of the Mesquite Skeeters.

That’s when junior Nylan Yancy caught a rebound from a free-throw and lobbed the ball from mid-court for a Eagle win at the buzzer.

The Eagles took on the Mesquite Skeeters on February 22.  The first quarter ended with the Eagles down.

The half-time buzzer went off as the team looked at the score – still losing. Waters were passed around the locker room as boys sat down and caught their breath.  Senior Clark Randall came in, looked at his teammates, and tried to build morale.

“C’mon men! We’re still in this,” Randall said. “We’ve stuck right with them, a few points is nothing. We still have this!”

The cheerleaders landed from their stunts as half time ended. The team came back from the locker room ready to play. The boys put their hands together, chanted “1-2-3-EAGLES,” and rushed back on the court.

Dozens of Richardson students, unofficially calling themselves the “Rowdy Crew,” chanted loudly to provide spirit from the stands.

“It’s our job to cheer the team to victory, so we get louder and louder,” senior DeVante Branch said. “We’re rowdy and proud.”

The Eagles took the lead at 46-47 with mere seconds left on the clock. A time out was called.

“We’re getting behind again. We’ve got to pick out spots when we trap,” head coach Justin Reese said to his team during the time out.

The ball went into play again and the Eagles gained possession. A failed pass sent the ball to the sidelines. Mesquite threw it down court and a player made a lay-up, but was fouled on the way. The score was 48-47 Mesquite, 1.57 seconds left on the clock.

The shooter missed his free throw and Eagles got the rebound. Junior Nylan Yancy quickly dribbled the ball and shot it across court, just passed the three-point line.

Mid air, the buzzer went off.  The ball hit the backboard and went in.

Immediately, the Richardson side flooded the court and dog-piled on top of Yancy and the rest of the team.

“It felt like a Disney channel movie,” senior Alex Leibold said.

Students picked up Yancy and hoisted him above for everyone to see. In tears, Yancy walked toward a chair to sit down. He returned to the locker room to further recoup from what just happened.

“I thought I just died,” Yancy said to his team. “I… I can’t believe that.”