High School

Nevada's Jarod Lucas' mirrors half-court buzzer-beater he hit as California high school basketball star

Lucas' deep bank shot lifted Nevada over Colorado State, looked like shot he hit at Los Altos High School (California) in 2017

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Jarod Lucas was seeing shades of 2017 on Tuesday night. 

The Nevada Wolfpack guard drilled a game-winning shot from past half court to beat Colorado State 77-74 — a highlight that made No. 2 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays, and drew comparisons to his time as a Southern California high school basketball star.

Tied 74-74, Lucas received a baseline inbound sprinting toward half court with 2.5 seconds left, took two dribbles, gathered and hoisted a shot off of his weak foot over the outstretched hands of a defender.

The shot bounced off of the backboard and clanked in as the buzzer sounded.

"Jarod Lucas lost his mind from halfcourt," the Fox Sports play-by-play broadcaster exclaimed.

Lucas, a San Gabriel Valley native, hit a strikingly similar shot for Los Altos High School in 2017, his junior season, to beat previously undefeated Corona Roosevelt in the Gold Division championship game at the Classic at Damien.

Watch the play for yourself:

He left the school a four-star prospect, the nation's No. 28 rated player (ESPN) and the CIF Southern Section career points leader (3,356).

After a standout career at Los Altos, he went to Oregon State, where as a sophomore he helped the Beavers win their first NCAA Tournament game since 1982 during an unlikely Elite Eight run. 

Lucas played three seasons at Oregon State before transferring to Nevada where he's played the last two.years. Over the last two seasons, he's averaged a team and career-high 17 points per game.

Nevada guard Jarod Lucas (2) celebrates hitting the 3-point buzzer beater to defeat Colorado State Rams 77-74 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Nevada guard Jarod Lucas (2) celebrates hitting the 3-point buzzer beater to defeat Colorado State Rams 77-74 at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado / Photo by Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca

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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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