For a second there Monday night, everything was great for Ikenna Ndugba. His team, Bryant University, was ahead of Brown, and he was dribbling out the clock on an exhilarating win. Ndugba was so happy about the victory he even threw the ball in the air in celebration, the way teams sometimes do after winning a championship.
There was only one problem: Ndugba’s team didn’t win the game.
Indeed, Bryant lost 91-90 thanks to Brown a lay-up with 3.8 seconds left and Ndugba ignominious decision to run out the clock instead of pushing the ball up-court for a final shot.
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This is kind of painful. The poor kid, a naive little freshman, went from jubilant to humiliated in mere seconds.
In a way it’s easy to understand what happened: Ndugba lost track of the score amid a flurry of buckets. In another way, it’s impossible to figure: How can you not know whether you’re winning or losing in the final seconds? Regardless, he’s not going to live it down any time soon. Just check out the reaction of Ndugba’s teammates while he celebrates the victory-that-wasn’t.
Hopefully Ndugba puts this behind him and has a nice career at Bryant. And hopefully he keeps track of the score, while he’s at it.