Searching for a Handle on the Moment?

Me too.

On the one hand, the Vipers just experienced the most electric crowd in the history of Western Civilization (or at least Vipers Basketball). An incredible crowd of 4,206 cheering on the Vipers the whole way, but that fourth quarter was possibly the greatest experience I've been a part of. Everyone was standing and cheering during the Vipers' comeback. The chants of DE-FENSE reigned down and the fans helped Reno to miss critical free throws down the stretch. I think the building shook at one point.

On the other hand, the ending was a bit like Duke-Butler just one week ago. No cinderella story, but a raucous home crowd cheering on a team to a late comeback... but that team still came up short. True, Butler was never down by 19, but a comeback's a comeback. And while you felt good about the game, you were disappointed by the ending.

The foul situation was a major factor. Reno had only been called for three fouls when the Vipers got their last chance with 5.8 seconds left. When they fouled Will Conroy, it didn't result in free throws with a chance to tie the game. It meant suddenly only 1.5 seconds to try to tie it. Rod Benson did a great job of guarding the inbounds and the significantly smaller Conroy never had a chance to find anyone open. He lobbed it into a scrum of people. I almost think Mickell Gladness should've been the inbounder (he played 17 seconds tonight) to have a chance to see where to go with the ball, but would you really want to put that responsibility on his shoulders? No, you have to give it to the leader of the team who is also the best passer. In that situation, perhaps the best play would've been an outside inbounds to Ernest Scott, who would set a pick for Conroy to roll around, grab the ball and let it fly at the buzzer, but there probably wasn't enough time to execute that. Given the time left, an alley-oop might have been the best bet. Maybe that was the idea and Benson got a piece of the ball to prevent it from getting the proper trajectory towards the basket. I'm not sure. It doesn't matter. The outcome is the outcome.

So Game 3 it Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena.

To everyone who came out Monday, thank you. It was incredible. Now come back Tuesday and bring a friend. Let's re-create the atmosphere and build upon it. Let's not let this dream season end so prematurely.