Derrick Walton Jr./AP
Michigan freshman guard Derrick Walton Jr. made three shots in Thursday night’s game against Nebraska. One of them happened to be a half-court buzzer-beater with defenders in his face before halftime. The other? The game winner.
In most cases, half-court rainmakers before halftime don’t make a drastic difference in the outcome of the game. On the contrary, those three points certainly mattered. But not as much as the game-winning lay-up that Walton Jr. had to help the Wolverines edge out the Cornhuskers, 71-70, to remain atop the Big Ten Conference standings with kingpins Michigan State and Wisconsin.
MUST SEE: You won’t believe the shot @umichbball freshman Derrick Walton Jr. hit at the halftime buzzer! WATCH – http://t.co/YGUlKnj3uf
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 10, 2014
For Walton, who is living in the shadow of last year’s national player of the year Trey Burke, it was a defining moment.
Via The Detroit Free Press:
“It was always a great feeling. I would have been just as exciting for another player, but making the play myself was equally exciting. My thought process was to make the right play to win the game.”
Thanks to The Dagger for sharing.
