The North Jefferson News is taking some time this summer to look back at the biggest moments of the 2016-17 high school sports season. Starting at No. 10 and ending at No. 1, a top-10 list of local highlights will unfold—one at a time—throughout the summer months.

We’ll start our series with a 15-foot pull-up, which broke a losing streak and revived a basketball rivalry. 

Coming in at No. 10 in the NJN Top-10 Sports Moments of 2016-17 is Mortimer Jordan basketball’s last-second win over Gardendale on January 27. The 42-41 win sparked a debate that’s yet to be settled. 

How long had it been since the Class 5A Blue Devils beat the Class 6A Rockets? 

Some say the streak slid back over 30 years, but one thing is for certain: Mortimer Jordan senior Trey Peters broke the trend with a single shot that Friday night in Gardendale. Peters, who finished the game with 21 points, buried the go-ahead shot from 15 feet out with 4.6 seconds left on the clock. 

“That was an awesome atmosphere for high school basketball,” said Mortimer Jordan head coach Josh Golden last Thursday. “Gardendale had the pep band there and I’m new to this rivalry, but both sides were packed. On Twitter and Facebook there was some back and forth afterwards as to who had more fans there.”

An anxious crowd watched as Gardendale senior Jacoby Bradford poured in a contested bucket, giving the Rockets a 41-40 lead with 17 seconds remaining. Remembering back, Golden never toyed with using a timeout.

“We had some timeouts there but in a scramble situation like that, I tend to think it’s advantage offense, so we just kind of let our guys play,” said Golden.

Down 1, Mortimer Jordan point guard Justin Anderson pushed it back up the floor in a hurry and gave it off to Ronnie Wright, who set Peters up for a shot he’ll remember long from now. Peters drove in from the right wing and pulled up from north of the free-throw line for what became the game-winner in a 42-41 decision. The ball left his hands quick and hung on the rim for a second of silence before it fell through the net.

“…it hit the front of the rim and luckily for us [Peters] kind of had the hot hand that night, so he got that shooter’s roll and it went in with like four seconds left,” Golden remembered. “It was just our night I guess. I know there’s been some debate on how long it had actually been [since Mortimer Jordan beat Gardendale], but it’s so long that nobody remembers for sure when the last time was.”

A timeout was called by Gardendale, but they were unable to land the buzzer-beater they needed.

That victory had Mortimer Jordan on an eight-game win streak that later grew to 13 in-a-row. The Blue Devils ended the season in the Northeast Sub-Regional at 23-8 overall. In Golden’s first year on the bench, he won the program’s third consecutive area championship.

“To be able to go on the road and get a big one like that was really exciting and I was just really excited for our guys, especially our seniors to be able to go out like that the last time they played Gardendale. It was an awesome night,” said Golden.

The Blue Devils will be back in Gardendale’s gym on June 8 and 15 for some offseason competition, and Peters’ big shot is sure to be mentioned.

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.