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This story appears in the Dec. 14 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf's three at the end of regulation nearly deprived fans of a six-O.T. epic in the Big East Tourney. The near hero explains why it was good that his shot was a half-second late.
"When it left my hands, it looked good and felt pretty good, too. When it went through the hoop, I didn't know what to do, so I ran and stood up on the scorer's table. To be on that type of stage, in Madison Square Garden, in the Big East tournament, Syracuse and UConn, it felt like I was on top of the world. Coach Boeheim was trying to run off the court. He wasn't going to wait to see if they'd review it, but they told him he had to stick around. Obviously, the shot didn't count. If it had, I don't think we'd be talking right now about the best game in college basketball history."
UConn assistant Patrick Sellers: "When it first went in, we all thought it was over. And then it was disallowed, and we thought we were going to play five more minutes for the win. We didn't know we were going to make history."