Many college basketball fans across the country are walking a bit taller today after none other than Stephen F. Austin pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history with its buzzer-beating 85-83 win over #1 ranked Duke in overtime.
To give you a sense of how unlikely this W was, Duke hadn’t lost a nonconference game at home since 2000 (150 games) and they were favored by 27.5 points at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
The hero for the Lumberjacks biggest win in school history was Nathan Bain, who dribbled the length of the court to finish a layup past the outstretched hand of Duke’s Jack White.
If this doesn’t give you goosebumps, you must either have human body parts in your freezer or are a Duke NERRRD or are a Duke NERRRD with human body parts in your freezer.
ANOTHER NO. 1 GOES DOWN!@SFA_MBB snapped @DukeMBB's 150 game non-conference home win streak thanks to Nathan Bain's buzzer beating layup last night.
— NCAA Men's Final Four (@MFinalFour) November 27, 2019
After the game, the senior forward fought back tears as he described the devastation Category 5 Hurricane Dorian caused to his native Bahamas back in September, previously claiming that one of the most catastrophic natural disasters recorded in history took just about everything his family owned and held dear.
Nathan Bain, everyone. @SFA_MBB // #RaiseTheAxe pic.twitter.com/mA7aNJeAfc
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) November 27, 2019
Directly after the storm hit, the Stephen F. Austin athletics department put together a GoFundMe page to help Bain’s family begin rebuilding their home, his father’s church, and get back on their feet. The crowdfunding page features photos of the Bain family home that is all but reduced to rubble.
In the first hour after Tuesday’s game ended, more than 100 people donated to the GoFundMe goal of $25,000, hitting $5,000 before Bain finished celebrating with his teammates.
At the time of this writing on Wednesday morning, the page has garnered over 600 donors and amassed $19,000.
Many of the donations were fueled by peoples’ collective hatred for Duke.
I’d say scoring the biggest bucket in school history and helping your family get back on their feet in one night is a solid haul.
Nathan Bain’s family saw their island nearly destroyed by Hurricane Dorian this summer.
Now, donations are flowing after the fifth-year senior made the shot of a lifetime to lift Stephen F. Austin over No. 1 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium: https://t.co/pZeuGkWbin pic.twitter.com/MG1KIL5c92
— SI College Hoops (@si_ncaabb) November 27, 2019
In the words of Chip Douglas from The Cable Guy, “I love thisssh game.”