Best In-State College Basketball Conference Tournament Moments

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The state of Utah has a rich history of buzzer beaters, impressive performances and clutch plays in conference tournament action.

With conferences around the nation hosting tournaments last week and this week, the KSL Sports team decided to bring back some of the best plays and performances from conference tournament games.

Keith Van Horn Buzzer Beater In 1997 WAC Tournament

In the first round of the 1997 WAC Tournament, Utah trailed SMU by one point with 10 seconds on the clock. Keith Van Horn had a look in the post but missed the shot off the front of the rim. Both teams battled for the rebound as it went out on SMU on Utah’s baseline with 0.3 seconds left.

Andre Miller inbounded the ball as Van Horn was near him on the block. Van Horn spun to his left around his defender into the paint as Miller threw the ball in the air. The Runnin’ Utes legend leaned towards the foul line and grabbed the ball quickly with his right hand and threw the ball towards the rim. The shot fell through and the Utes pulled out a 59-58 win.

Utah went on to win the WAC Tournament with wins over New Mexico and TCU. They reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Kentucky.

Jimmer Fredette Drops 52 In 2011 MWC Tournament

BYU star Jimmer Fredette went off for the Cougars in their 87-76 win over New Mexico in the 2011 Mountain West Tournament semifinals. Fredette finished with 52 points, two rebounds and four assists, while shooting 22-of-37 from the field and 7-for-14 from the three-point line. Jimmer attempted just one free throw.

BYU went on to lose to Kawhi Leonard and No. 7 San Diego State in the championship game. They reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament with wins over Wofford and Gonzaga, before falling to Florida.

Kevin Nixon Nails Half-Court Heave To Win 1992 WAC Title

BYU had to go the full length of the court in the 1992 WAC Championship game, down by one point to UTEP with 2.4 seconds left. Kevin Nixon gets the pass around the foul line before taking two dribbles and throwing up a half court heave. The ball went through the hoop and the Cougars beat UTEP 73-71.

BYU appeared in the NCAA Tournament where they lost to LSU in the first round.

Sam Merrill Buries San Diego State With Dagger Three In MWC Title Game In 2020

Sam Merrill drilled a contested three-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining that eventually gave the Aggies a 59-56 win over No. 5 San Diego State, sending them to the NCAA Tournament. It was the second consecutive season that the Aggies won the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.

With less than 20 seconds on the clock, Merrill received the ball at half court. He dribbled the ball down until the game clock was down to four seconds when Merrill fired a contested three over San Diego State guard K.J. Feagin and nailed it with 2.6 second left.

Merrill finished with 27 points on 6-15 shooting from the three-point line. Utah State didn’t play in the NCAA Tournament since the Big Dance was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Nick Jacobsen Hits Buzzer Beater To Lead Utah To 2004 MWC Tournament Championship

The game was tied at 70 with five seconds left in the game against UNLV in the 2004 Mountain West Tournament Championship. Utah center Andrew Bogut received the ball at the top of the three-point line. Nick Jacobsen ran around a double screen on the baseline before running up to the left wing. He drilled the three-pointer with a hand in his face to give the Utes a 73-70 lead. UNLV heaved up a half court shot and missed.

The Utes lost to Boston College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Taking a stroll down memory lane. Who remembers this beautiful shot by Nick Jacobsen in the 2004 Mountain West Tournament title game? #GoUtes #KSLSportsArchive @kslsports pic.twitter.com/EuxjpZSXiE

— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) March 12, 2021

Lorenzo Bonam Goes Coast-To-Coast To Send 2016 Pac-12 Semifinal Game To OT

Utah was the No. 2 seed in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, facing No. 3 Cal in the semifinals. The Utes trailed Cal by two points with 4.3 seconds left. Jordan Loveridge inbounded the ball to Lorenzo Bonam, who went the full length of the court and got the layup to go before time expired to go to overtime. Utah outscored Cal 12-8 in overtime to pick up an 82-78 win.

Bonam finished with 18 points. Jakob Poeltl led the way with 29 points and 11 rebounds. The Utes lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game. After reaching the NCAA Tournament, they beat Fresno State in the first round before falling to Gonzaga in the second round.

After watching the game last night, did anyone have flashbacks to this moment in 2016? Lorenzo Bonam goes the full length of the court for a layup to send their semifinal game to OT against Cal.#GoUtes #KSLSportsArchive @kslsports pic.twitter.com/EjN21Adjdl

— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) March 13, 2021

Scott Moon Sends BYU To 1991 WAC Title Game With Buzzer Beater

BYU needed a bucket late in the 1991 WAC semifinals against Hawaii. With nine seconds left in overtime, the Cougars fired up a shot along the baseline that didn’t fall. Scott Moon got the offensive rebound and put the ball back up where it bounced around on the rim six times before going through the net. When the ball fell through, time expired. BYU beat Hawaii 73-71

The Cougars went on to beat Utah in the WAC Championship game. When they went to the NCAA Tournament, they beat Virginia in the first round before losing to Arizona in the second round.

One of the great conference tournament moments in @BYUbasketball history was this putback by Scott Moon. The ball bounced around the rim and fell through as time expired to beat Hawaii. The Cougars went on to beat Utah in the WAC title game in 1991.#GoCougs #BYUHoops pic.twitter.com/f8V1CBYZri

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 13, 2021

BYU Beats Utah In 1991 WAC Championship Game

The rivalry between Utah and BYU went to another level when they met in the 1991 WAC Championship game. Utah had the chance to tie the game in overtime to send it to a second OT as Josh Grant found Tyrone Tate wide open at the rim. Tate missed the point blank shot at the buzzer and BYU escaped with a 51-49 win.

The Cougars beat Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Arizona in the second round.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.

[ss-signup design_id=”2289525″]