JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The shot went in and the coach went down.
It was a comical and memorable moment that proved to be the highlight of the four games played in Jacksonville and could define Thursday’s opening day of the NCAA tournament.
Welcome to YouTube, Vine and “One Shining Moment,” Ron and R.J. Hunter.
“I wish every dad in America could have that opportunity, what I just experienced with my son,” Ron Hunter said.
R.J. Hunter hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining that lifted No. 14 seed Georgia State over No. 3 seed Baylor and knocked good ol’ dad right off his chair.
Ron Hunter was working the sideline in a rolling seat less than a week after tearing his left Achilles tendon celebrating the Sun Belt Conference championship.
“I saw him cannonball off his chair,” R.J. said. “I told him they’ve got to get him a chair with a back or something because that wasn’t going to work.”
Hunter shrugged off a poor shooting performance to come through when his team needed him most.
Baylor (24-10), which got 18 points and 15 rebounds from reserve Taurean Prince, did not score after going up 56-44 on two free throws with 2:54 remaining.
Hunter delivered a steal and a layup that trimmed Baylor’s lead to 56-53, and then he drained an deeper-than-NBA-range 3-pointer for the win after the Baylor’s Kenny Chery — an 83 percent free-throw shooter — missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that could have put the game away.
Hunter finished with 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
“I had to convince my guys that we could beat them,” Ron Hunter said. “And the only way I could convince them is I said we had to throw the first punch and the last punch, and the only way to do it was by pressing. I wanted Baylor to know we weren’t afraid to play them.”
The Panthers (25-9) advanced to play No. 6 seed Xavier on Saturday.
Could Georgia State deliver another upset or another celebration gem?
“It’s unbelievable and a dream come true,” R.J. Hunter said. “I hugged my sister and said, ’We’re going to be in “One Shining Moment.”’ We always watched that as a family. That’s what we watch when your dad is a coach. It’s unbelievable, man. It’s a little surreal right now. It’s a little hard to digest, and God looked out for me today.”
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