He hadn't played all game. Then made a play we won't forget. 'Hard to believe that was me.'

From his spot on the Guerin Catholic bench Saturday night, senior Ben Grissom watched his team match Brebeuf Jesuit shot for shot, play for play. He watched Brebeuf senior Evan Haywood hit a 3-pointer shot from the logo at the end of regulation. He watched Haywood do it again from the volleyball line with 9.8 seconds left in overtime.

Nothing, it seemed, would separate these top-10 teams in the Class 3A Sectional 27 championship at Guerin Catholic as Brebeuf rallied from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter. On and on it went.

“A long game,” Grissom said. “The crowd was into it like I’ve never seen before. It’s exactly how you want a sectional championship to be. Both teams just kept making plays.”

Then, it was Grissom’s turn. With 56.6 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Guerin senior point guard Jack Cherry fouled out on a putback attempt by Javawn Brooks. Guerin coach Bobby Allen, after talking it over with the assistant coaches, pointed to Grissom, who had not played one second of the game.

“All the conversations I’ve had with Ben this year his answer is always, ‘I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win,’” Allen said. “When Jack fouled out, the coaches talked, and the bottom line was that Ben is a senior, and we knew exactly the effort he was going to give us if he went in.”

As it turned out, in those 56.6 seconds, Grissom etched his name in Hoosier Hysteria lore.

First, he nearly had a steal after Guerin had taken a one-point lead. But Brooks then scored with 40 seconds remaining to put Brebeuf ahead by a point. As the clock ticked down, both Guerin starting guards — Robert Sorensen and Cherry — were on the bench with five fouls. When Cherry fouled out, Sorensen lobbied for Grissom to play.

“There were some guys on the bench he might typically play over me,” Grissom said. “But I have senior experience on most of the guys, not necessarily playing, but seeing it happen last year. I think (Allen) felt like I was the best fit for the situation.”

As the clock ticked under 8 seconds, Guerin guard Andy Caron drove the right baseline. Brebeuf’s Owen Prenger knocked the ball away. Haywood and Brebeuf teammate Will Ryan dove for the loose ball as Grissom swooped in and got his hands on the ball. Guerin was awarded a timeout with 3.5 seconds left over the objections of Brebeuf fans, who wanted a jump ball (which would have given possession to the Braves).

“Caron and (Malcolm) Houze were trying to figure out a way to score,” Grissom said. “The ball got loose and I was thinking, ‘We aren’t going to come out on top.’ I just dove on it and we were able to get the timeout off.”

Said Allen: “That was amazing.”

If that was amazing, what came next was almost beyond description. Guerin Catholic, trailing by one point, took the ball out under its basket. One option on the out-of-bounds play called for Houze to look for 6-7 senior Dylan Murans coming to the basket off a backscreen from Grissom.

Brebeuf coach Allen Glunt put 6-10 freshman Ben Ly in the game to defend the out-of-bounds pass. The play looked like a disaster. Brooks knew Grissom’s screen was coming and blocked Murans’ path. Houze’s pass cleared Ly’s reach — and the reach of anyone else.

“Malcolm had to throw it before Dylan jumped,” Grissom said. “It’s good he didn’t throw a better pass. If Dylan would have touched it, the clock would have started.”

Grissom did not know in the moment if anyone touched the ball or not. But he was the closest to it as it sailed and bounced near the 3-point line behind him. Grissom turned and gave chase, grabbing the ball. Brooks knocked it away, just a for a moment, before Grissom finally corralled it again as he stumbled dangerously close to the sideline.

“In the moment, I didn’t feel like I was right on top of the line,” he said. “But going back and watching it again, I was pretty close.”

Grissom was listening for the buzzer, expecting it at any moment. Facing the crowd as he fell out of bounds, his only option was to fling the ball over his head toward the basket.

“I had no idea if anyone got a fingertip on it,” he said. “If they did, I knew there couldn’t have been much time by the time I got it. I knew throwing toward our basket, a shot or pass, was the only chance. When I threw it over my head, I thought the buzzer was going to go off and end our season. I was thinking, ‘How in the world has the buzzer not gone off?’”

All five Brebeuf defenders, including Ly, ran toward the ball. Standing alone, under the basket, was Houze, the inbounds passer. Grissom’s over-the-head pass hit Houze with the accuracy of Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne. Houze moved toward the ball, caught it in front of the basket and shot it in off the backboard just ahead of the buzzer.

An unforgettable 75-74 double-overtime victory for Guerin Catholic.

Houze raised his hands like Rocky Balboa. Caron fell to the floor in stunned disbelief. Grissom ran toward Houze and leaped in the air, followed by the rest of the team and Guerin student section. Haywood, after scoring 35 points, stood motionless with his hands on his head.

“Complete shock,” Grissom said of the moment. “Overwhelmed with happiness. I don’t even know how to describe it.”

The ensuing 24 hours were a whirlwind for Grissom. The locker room celebration, the postgame meal. The countless times he was rewatched the video, wondering how it could have happened the way it did. “I don’t think we could ever recreate it,” he said.

The lesson? Be ready when your number is called. You might just throw an over-the-head pass to win a sectional championship game in double overtime.

“I give credit to the rest of the guys,” Grissom said. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I see all my friends posting the video on Instagram. It’s hard to believe that was me.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.