The ball barely escaped his fingers in time, the whistle blew, the fans held their breath as the ball in seeming slow motion travelled the ‘shooter’s path’ – Swish!!!!!! Almost immediately, the fan rushed onto the court, the euphoria was just palpable. Unbelievable!
This is scene reserved for most NBA playoff games – “Kobe Bryant hits a clutch shot, Lebron saves the game, Wade does it again.” This time, with barely a second left to the end of the first overtime, Francis (Frankie) Lamptey’s miracle 3 point shot sent the game to second overtime.
On Thursday March 29, 2012, Methodist University College, Dansoman, Accra, travelled all the way to Berekuso, to continue what is becoming an annual tradition – basketball game with Ashesi University. Ashesi had already systematically walloped the team from Maritime, in a game that was decided almost from the beginning. However, everyone had been waiting for this game, for too long. Last year Methodist beat Ashesi, so naturally Ashesi was out for blood.
However, the match anticipated game started with Methodist routing Ashesi in the first half. At a point Methodist led 17-4, in the first half, which eventually ended 21-12, with an 8-4 run engineered by Ashesi’s Frankie. It was obvious memories of last year’s game still haunted some members of the team, which has now been re-stocked with some impressive freshman talent.
Second half was a different story. Ashesi wasted no time getting to business. Much different from the first half when they had relied on outside shooting which kept backfiring, Frankie and freshman, John Oteng, supported by third year Francis Hansen, repeatedly drove to the hole, hitting unbelievable shots and drawing fouls. Halfway through the second half, Ashesi took the lead. After that the game was a back and forth affair, with multiple lead changes, down to the wire. Proceedings ended 41-41. The first overtime was physical and fast paced, Frankie controlling the pace and making the shots for Ashesi. As had been an issue all night, Methodist’s size, speed and experience gave them an edge over the very young Ashesi team. However, with about a half minute remaining, Andrew Barton Oduro hit a three pointer from the wing, giving Ashesi the lead, sending the fans into frenzy. Methodist calmly responded with a three of their own, and a three point play with 5 seconds left. And this is when the miracle happened….
Nobody really knew what to expect during the time out. With the boys huddled around interim coach, second year, Eben Ogyiri, the fans who a minute ago were sure of a win, were beginning to wonder whether they had unnecessarily sacrificed their assignment and project times for another heartbreak. However, from the simple play that was drawn, execution was perfect – Frankie received the inbound ball on the sideline, right in front of the Ashesi faithfuls, with Methodist defenders breathing down his neck, and took a fadeaway three that simply shocked all. One fit, for Sports Centre top 10 plays, sending the game to second overtime.
The second overtime started with Frankie dislocating his shoulder and thus leaving the game. Methodist systematically took over the game with a 13-4 run, making Ashesi pay dearly for some very costly turnovers in the stretch.
Methodist once again triumphed over Ashesi, this time 67-54, a score line in no way reflective of the game’s storyline. The fans nonetheless were not disappointed; they came to watch a normal friendly basketball game, and got more than they bargained for – a match reserved for the Madison Square Gardens, Staples Centres and other high-billed arenas around the world.
