Stephen F. Austin’s 85-83 win over Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday night was one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. It’s been nearly 20 years since the Blue Devils lost to a non-conference opponent on their home court.
The Lumberjacks’ victory also came in thrilling fashion, with forward Nathan Bain sprinting down the court for the game-winning layup with no time remaining. The play was even more exciting accompanied by the play-by-play call on Fox Sports Southeast.
“They’ve got a time-out. They don’t use it! Baaiiinn… YES! The Lumberjacks have done it!“
Who called that game-winner? Twitter wanted to know within minutes after Bain’s shot went in and shocked everyone who watched the finish of Stephen F. Austin’s thrilling victory.
Eric Collins of Fox Sports Southeast was the man at the mic for the memorable play. His call has already been replayed thousands of times, if not more. And it will be replayed for years to come when discussing the best moments in sports and greatest upsets in college basketball history.
But would you believe Bain’s game-winning shot wasn’t the only buzzer-beater Collins called during the past week?
Collins’ is the TV voice for Charlotte Hornets broadcasts on Fox Sports Southeast, currently in his fifth season calling play-by-play for the team. That put him at the mic just four days ago for the Chicago Bulls’ last-second, 116-115 win over the Hornets Saturday night.
“Chicago’s got it! Oh! No! You’re kidding!”
Zach Lavine hit the game-winning three-pointer for the Bulls — his 13th three of the game — with 00.8 seconds remaining, a bit more time than Bain had to convert his layup in Durham four days later.
Two buzzer-beaters in four days. What a week for Collins.
How many game-winning shots does a basketball play-by-play announcer get to call during a career? How many last-second victories in any sport? (During his career, Collins has called baseball, including Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox games, softball, and college football, in addition to doing play-by-play for college and pro basketball.)
Collins has certainly been the right guy in the right place at the right time during the past four days. He’s provided viewers with the right words and the appropriate level of excitement to accompany thrilling moments. For at least one of those moments, we’ll probably be listening to his play-by-play call over and over again.
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.