Watch: Olathe East grad Tyler Kalinoski saves Davidson with buzzer-beater in A-10 Tournament
Tyler Kalinoski glanced at the clock and knew it was time to make something happen. Davidson only had a few seconds left to avoid being one-and-done in its first Atlantic 10 Tournament and having a nervous wait until selection Sunday.
Kalinoski beat the clock with a driving, left-handed scoop to cap a crazy comeback and No. 24 Davidson slipped by La Salle 67-66 in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals on Friday.
The top-seeded Wildcats, 24-6, trailed almost the entire game and were down nine after Jerrell Wright’s dunk for the Explorers with 4:45 left, but ninth-seeded La Salle, 17-16, didn’t score another point.
Kalinoski started the rally with a three and then finished it by cutting through the Explorers and finding room to flip a shot high over the outstretched arms of the 6-foot-8 Wright.
“I don’t know if I was going for glass or not,” said Kalinoski, who played at Olathe East. “One thing we do in practice a lot is coach always tells us to shoot it high, because if you shoot it high it gives it a better chance to go in the basket. And when I saw the shot-blocker coming over I definitely knew I had to get it as high as I could.”
“I knew it had a chance to go in.”
The ball bounced on the rim and through the net as the clock ran out. The Wildcats rushed the floor, their costumed mascot making a head-first slide onto the hardwood, and mobbed Kalinoski as the Explorers trudged off.
“I was surprised that shot went in,” La Salle coach John Giannini said. “I thought we had them out of rhythm a little bit. It looked like the ball was thrown towards the rim and not shot as well as they normally do. It just kind of took a couple of bounces and went in.”
Steve Zack dominated inside for La Salle with a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds.
“I can’t even think about that right now,” said Zack, a senior. “My career’s over on a buzzer-beater.”
Wright had 19 points for La Salle.
Jack Gibbs led Davidson with 22 points and had a chance to tie with 1:19 left when he hit a three and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
Kalinoski finished with 18 points and helped the Wildcats avoid an uncomfortable few days until the NCAA field of 68 is set.
“The last game-winner I think I had was in middle school,” Kalinoski said.
This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Watch: Olathe East grad Tyler Kalinoski saves Davidson with buzzer-beater in A-10 Tournament."