The end of the A&M-NIU game last night felt familiar to a comeback I had seen Tech pull off against Texas in the 1980s. Not quite as big, and obviously not on a bigger stage, but a pretty unbelievable nonetheless.
I did some quick research. On Feb. 22, 1982, at the old Bubble, Tech played Texas. I was out of college by one year, but had taken off to travel to see the game.
Tech trailed Texas, 65-56, with 1:31 left. Looked hopeless to the point you weren't even nervous. It was a done deal. But Tech jumped into a full-court press and several of those Hobbs players, like Jeff Taylor and Steve Smith, who pressed all the time in high school, made a little magic happen.
They converted on four consecutive turnovers off the press. And in fact, took the lead at 66-65 with 27 seconds left without Texas getting a shot off. So a 10-0 run in 1:04 (and this was before the 3-point line).
According to the game story, Texas finally got a shot off in the last few seconds, but their big center, LaSalle Thompson, who went on to the NBA, missed. Smith rebounded, was fouled, and hit one free throw for a 67-65 lead. UT missed a Hail Mary at the end.
Not a really big crowd in those days, and I just remember people being more stunned than anything else. Gerald Myers had a great quote: "This team never gave up where to be honest, the head coach probably had."
I did some quick research. On Feb. 22, 1982, at the old Bubble, Tech played Texas. I was out of college by one year, but had taken off to travel to see the game.
Tech trailed Texas, 65-56, with 1:31 left. Looked hopeless to the point you weren't even nervous. It was a done deal. But Tech jumped into a full-court press and several of those Hobbs players, like Jeff Taylor and Steve Smith, who pressed all the time in high school, made a little magic happen.
They converted on four consecutive turnovers off the press. And in fact, took the lead at 66-65 with 27 seconds left without Texas getting a shot off. So a 10-0 run in 1:04 (and this was before the 3-point line).
According to the game story, Texas finally got a shot off in the last few seconds, but their big center, LaSalle Thompson, who went on to the NBA, missed. Smith rebounded, was fouled, and hit one free throw for a 67-65 lead. UT missed a Hail Mary at the end.
Not a really big crowd in those days, and I just remember people being more stunned than anything else. Gerald Myers had a great quote: "This team never gave up where to be honest, the head coach probably had."
