BAS KETBALL - STRANGE STORIES

One of the oddest basketball games ever was played in 1982. Would you believe that a team of five players was beaten by a team of one? That one player was Mike Lockhart, a six-foot-one-inch guard. Mike’s team, the Knights, were probably feeling pretty good at the end of the first half. They were leading their rivals, the Sea Lions, by 15 points. But the Knights ran into trouble early in the second half. One after another, they fouled out. And because of heavy illness and injuries, there were only three men on the bench! Midway through the second half, just four Knights were left to play. Yet, they held on to their lead. As the nervous Knights’ fans watched in horror, three more men fouled out! That left one player—Mike Lockhart. And the clock still showed 2 minutes and 10 seconds to go in the game. Mike’s team was leading: 70—57. According to the rules, a one-man team can continue the game—as long as that player’s team is in the lead. Mike was alone on the floor. “I was really scared,” he said. “I could dribble the ball—but there was no one to pass to. And I had four fouls myself. If I made one more, the game would be over!” The worst part was inbounding the ball. After checking the rule book, the referee declared that the inbound ball must touch a player on the other team before Mike could go after it. Mike inbounded the ball by bouncing it off a Sea Lion’s leg. Then, with the clock ticking, he dribbled the ball. He was desperate to use up as much time as possible. Finally, he shot—and missed— but he grabbed his own rebound. The Sea Lions couldn’t believe that a single man was holding them off. Again and again, they tried to get the ball away from Mike. Three players made fouls. Mike got six freethrows—and put five of them through the hoop! When the Sea Lions finally managed to get the ball, their game was falling apart. One man missed an easy shot. Another player was called for traveling. And two wild Sea Lions passes sent the ball out of bounds. They managed to score only ten points. The final score was Knights: 75, Sea Lions: 67. Believe it or not, Mike Lockhart had won a five-on-one game!