PORTLAND, Ore — A pair of cheerleaders were dubbed the "hoops heroes" after saving a NCAA tournament game Thursday at Moda Center in Portland. A basketball got stuck on top of the backboard during Indiana's game against the Saint Mary's Gaels.
Saint Mary's was up 45-29 in the second half when the game was forced to stop. A referee stood on top of a chair and tried to wiggle the ball free with a mop, but he couldn't reach it.
Hoosiers cheerleader Nathan Paris and teammate Cassidy Cerny jumped into help, literally.
"They kept trying different ways and nothing really was working," Paris said during an appearance with Cerny on TODAY Friday. "And so all of us kind of looked at each other and our captain, Ethan, was like, 'We need the tallest guy to lift somebody up to see if we can get to the top of the backboard.'
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Paris told TODAY he grabbed Cerny and said, "Maybe this’ll work."
Cerny jumped on his hands and retrieved the ball from the top of the backboard. Basketball fans in the stadium broke out in cheers and applause.
"As cheerleaders, we're always looking for a reaction from the crowd, so for us to be doing something that gets that kind of reaction is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime thing," Paris said.
Cerny told TODAY the attention has been "very overwhelming" and exciting.
"It’s been very cool and very interesting to see how many people have seen the video and are reaching out. It’s just been really cool."
Saint Mary's Gaels beat the 12th-seeded Hoosiers 82-53 and advances to the second round of the NCAA tournament. They will place UCLA on Saturday at 4 p.m.
