Sean Smith didn’t know he scored the game-winning shot Thursday night, but the sound in the Doherty gym let him know. 

After back-and-forth action between the Spartans and Rampart, the Rams were up 64-63 in the final seconds until Acai Biglow passed the ball to Smith, who then thought he drew a foul on a Rams player as he launched the ball in the air. 

Unbeknownst to Smith, he made the near half-court shot to give the Spartans a 66-64 league win. 

This is the senior’s first official season of high school basketball after dealing with hip dysplasia the last two years. 

“I’ve been battling to get on the court,” Smith said. “I’m blessed to finally get clear to have a healthy year.”

The buzzer-beater moment in their words: 

Doherty coach Mark Jones: “We had a good lead, but Rampart did what they do best. They went up eight or 10 points on us in the last four minutes of the game to make it a real challenge for us. They are a really tough opponent.” 

Smith: “We were tied and then down by one on a call. But we knew we had a timeout so we weren’t panicking. Coach called the timeout and drew up the set for us, but the ball wasn’t where we expected. So we knew we had to make something happen. Our coaches trusted us and we trusted our coach. We just made the right play.” 

Smith: “I had no intention of making the shot. I just wanted to be in the shooting motion to get the shooting foul and give us a chance to win it at the free throw line. After I shot it, I was looking at the ref to see what his call would be and didn’t know I made the shot until I heard the crowd and everyone started chasing me. After that it was pure excitement and pure adrenaline. It was electric in there. They tried to storm the court. … It was awesome to be at home with teammates and family. All the support was really appreciated.” 

Senior Gavin Gilbert: “I came up to get the ball, and it ended up going to Sean (Smith). But I was celebrating that he got the foul. When the crowd erupted, I realized what had happened. It was surreal to say the least.” 

Jones: “Gavin was the workhorse last night, he has a chance to be Player of the Year for the conference. He walked away with 21 points.”

Smith: “I used up all my luck on that shot. The basketball gods were with me on that shot. I’m just grateful it went in, and I was able to help secure the win for my teammates.” 

Jones: “I’m sure Sean has watched (the video) 100,000 times, and I’m sure Gavin as well.” 

Smith: “It was a crucial win for our program. Just with the last couple of games being right there and not being able to pull out a close victory. It’s big for our team to get going and see that we can pull out close games like that.”