The top of the American Athletic Conference standings now belongs to Tulsa after the Golden Hurricane shocked No. 23 Wichita State on Saturday with a dramatic game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. It was junior guard Elijah Joiner who delivered the dagger -- an off-balance, fadeaway 3-pointer -- lifting Tulsa to the 54-51 win and into sole possession of first place in the AAC.
The game was tied at 51-all with 3.3 seconds left when Joiner caught the inbounds and went from 3-point line to 3-point line in a matter of seconds. The rest was history.
🚨 TULSA AT THE BUZZER 🚨
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 2, 2020
Elijah Joiner caps off his career-high performance with this bucket for @TUMBasketball! #ForOurCity pic.twitter.com/5JZFYBZuNa
Here's a different angle of the shot, which really underscores just how absurd an attempt -- and make -- it was from Joiner.
GAME WINNER IN TULSA. 54-51 FINAL over #23 Wichita ST @TUMBasketball @KJRH2HD @espn @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/TWQa6vCCiA
— Jacob Tobey (@JacobRTobey) February 2, 2020
It wasn't just a heroic moment for Joiner, either. Turns out, it's a feel-good story for him and his family as well. After the game, Joiner was emotional discussing what the game meant to him and how it meant a little more with his dad seeing him play for the first time at TU.
"I honestly never pictured this moment with my father being here for the first time," he said. "I'm just so happy that he was here for this moment. It means so much for me to see him in the crowd. It just means a lot to me, knowing that he was here and that I could do this in this special moment. I never pictured this. I never pictured him being in the crowd, cheering me on and things like that this far in my life. But he's here and I'm just so happy that he's here."
POSTGAME: After hitting the game-winner to beat #23 Wichita St, Elijah joiner (@Slightwork11__) shared a moment with his father, who was watching him here in Tulsa for the 1st time. He talked about how special that moment was @TUMBasketball @FrankHaithTulsa pic.twitter.com/SgLL2D4LWh
— Jacob Tobey (@JacobRTobey) February 2, 2020
Joiner finished with a team-high 22 points and went 5 of 6 from the 3-point line in the win.