Aaron White's scoop shot at the buzzer lifts team to PTL title

NORTH LIBERTY - In the Prime Time League title game Sunday, Aaron White touched the ball last. The incoming Iowa freshman made sure it counted.

After nearly every player on the court had the chance to touch the ball in the final seconds, White sank a running, one-handed scoop shot at the buzzer to lift his team to a 100-99 win. White's shot was the culmination of a wild final five seconds of gritty effort and solid execution.

The teams battled for possession just past midcourt for White's team. Keith Steffeck, grabbed the loose ball, slid on the floor and launched it toward teammate Andre Murphy, who then tossed ahead to White. White chose to go around 6-foot-9 Alex Novak, a Minnesota State-Moorhead junior from Clear Creek-Amana. Novak blocked White's path to the basket, so White went almost behind the basket and hit his shot.

“Murphy threw it up to me, and I knew I had about three seconds left so I drove baseline,” said White, who led all scorers with 26 points. “I kind of slipped it up, and it went in.

“It kind of rattled around, and it seemed like it took a little longer than it would have and just dropped in the hole. I'm grateful it went in.”

Novak, who holds his college career record for blocked shots after only two years, had his hands extended but didn't attempt to block White's shot.

“I knew if I tried to jump with him they'd call a foul,” Novak said. “He's a great free-throw shooter, so he's going to put both of those in anyway. I was just hoping maybe he was too off-balance. He's a really good player, and he makes all sorts of layups. It just rolled in for him. There's not much we can do.”

“He shot it and I looked at the clock, and it was still winding down.”

White's teammate, Iowa senior Matt Gatens, dove for the loose ball that Steffeck snagged and then crashed the boards with Iowa sophomore Melsahn Basabe at the buzzer to potentially follow White's shot.

“It seemed like every guy on the team touched the ball on that last play, and that's what you like to see, especially in a summer league is guys finishing plays and getting on the floor and playing hard,” Gatens said. “That last play really exemplified that.”

At halftime, PTL Director Randy Larson announced the season awards. Iowa senior point guard Bryce Cartwright was named league MVP. Gatens and Iowa junior Eric May tied for the Chris Street Award. Iowa freshman Gabe Olaseni and Northern Iowa junior Anthony James were named co-top defenders, while Kevin Lehman was named coach of the year.

The game aired live on KCRG 9.2 and streamed live at

www.kcrg.com.