John Stockton Shot, BYU 1980 Holiday Bowl Highlight Lucky Plays In Utah Sports

Mar 17, 2020, 3:45 PM

(Photo by Sporting News via Getty Images via Getty Images)

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the KSL Sports team came up with the most lucky plays that occurred in Utah sports history.

From buzzer-beating three-pointers to magnificent catches, there have been many plays that have made Utah sports fans cheer.

Here are some notable lucky plays in Utah sports history.

John Stockton’s Shot In NBA Finals

A shot that we will never forget. John Stockton’s three-pointer sends the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

It never gets old! #takenote https://t.co/IWo8uyFOOr pic.twitter.com/USJ6DkqIrq

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 15, 2020

BYU Holiday Bowl Win In 1980

SMU was ranked No. 19 in the country, while BYU was No. 14. The Mustangs jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter before the Cougars scored their first touchdown. By halftime, SMU had a 29-13 lead, but BYU cut the lead before the break on an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown.

In the third quarter, SMU scored 9 points and BYU found the end zone once to trail 38-19 heading into the final period. The Cougars trimmed the deficit to 13 to start the fourth quarter before the Mustangs scored their final touchdown of the night. Matt Braga caught a 15-yard touchdown from McMahon, followed by a one-yard TD run by Scott Phillips to put BYU within six points, 45-39.

BYU had the ball with three seconds on the clock when McMahon threw a Hail Mary into the end zone that was caught by Clay Brown to give the Cougars the shocking victory.

Marcus Matthews Catch vs. USU

When the Aggies and Cougars clashed in Provo in 2011, Utah State had a 24-20 lead over BYU with 14 seconds left. BYU QB Riley Nelson threw a pass to J.J. Di Luigi but the ball was deflected and landed into the hands of Marcus Matthews for the touchdown. The Cougars came away with a 27-24 win over the Aggies after trailing 24-13 in the final period.

Ben Moa TD In Triple OT To Beat Air Force

The Utes needed three overtime periods to beat the Air Force Falcons back in 2003. The game was tied and Utah had to go for the two-point conversion when Ben Moa was found in the end zone.

Ben Moa for the win over Air Force in double OT in '03. @SafetyPride and @weddlesbeard will remember this win well. #Utes https://t.co/qtRHivzlXo pic.twitter.com/NBXn2Ge2rt

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 16, 2020

Miracle At Memorial

In 2015, BYU lost their starting quarterback Taysom Hill to a broken foot. Backup quarterback Tanner Mangum took over and led the Cougars to a miraculous win over Nebraska at Memorial Stadium. On the final play of the game and BYU trailing the Cornhuskers by one point, Mangum threw a hail mary that was caught by Mitch Matthews.

Sam Merrill Buzzer-Beater

Utah State guard Sam Merrill’s last shot of his legendary college career was a great one. He drilled a three-pointer in the final seconds to give the Aggies a win over No. 5 San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship game.

"Sam Merrill is a freaking stud!" – @ScottyGZone #AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/my44chqUzL pic.twitter.com/7LxfX2H035

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 16, 2020

Beck To Harline

BYU seniors John Beck and Jonny Harline hooked up with time remaining to win the game and complete their undefeated season in Mountain West Conference play. Some might say that Harline is still open.

Troy Williams Late TD To Beat USC

In 2017, Utah quarterback Troy Williams found wide receiver Tim Patrick in the end zone as the 24th ranked Utes took the lead and the win over the USC Trojans, 28-24.

Kyle Morrell’s Front Flip Tackle

BYU football was undefeated and ranked number six in the country when they traveled to Aloha Stadium in the first month of the regular season. Linebacker/Safety Kyle Morrell timed his leap perfectly to prevent Hawaii from building on their 13-12 lead. BYU’s Robbie Bosco then led the Cougars to a game-winning scoring drive to keep the Cougars National Championship season intact. Morell later was voted an All-American.

1984: #BYU LB Kyle Morrell’s incredible goal line tackle on Hawaii QB Raphel Cherry kept BYU’s undefeated and ultimately, National Championship season alive.#BYUFootball @kslsports pic.twitter.com/6aKiVjaLAQ

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 19, 2019

Bojan’s Two Buzzer-Beaters

Utah Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic is the only player this season to make two buzzer-beaters. The first one was against the Milwaukee Bucks at home and the other was on the road against the Houston Rockets.

Bojan! Buckets! The only player in the NBA this season with TWO game winning buzzer-beaters #takenote https://t.co/dXlGs6pIQm pic.twitter.com/Ai7lf6IP6c

— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) March 16, 2020

Parker Van Dyke Buzzer-Beater At UCLA

The Utes trailed by 23 points in the second half against UCLA in 2019. Utah trailed 87-83 with 28 seconds remaining when Riley Battin missed his second free throw. Timmy Allen collected the rebound and made a layup to trim the deficit to two points.

UCLA broke Utah’s full-court press and finished the possession with a wide-open dunk to go back up by four points with 16 seconds left. Both Gach answered with a long three-pointer to cut the lead to one point with 8.8 seconds remaining. The Bruins made their two free throws to lead by three. UCLA fouled Utah and Sedrick Barefield made both shots at the foul line to put the Bruins’ lead to 91-90 with 6.9 seconds left.

The Bruins made just one of their two free throw attempts to stretch the lead to two points. With 5.9 seconds remaining, Barefield brought the ball up the court and threw the ball behind him to Parker Van Dyke who launched a long three and nailed it at the buzzer to give the Utes the win.

*Mitch Harper contributed to this story.