But the Rockport native only wanted to thank his teammates. "The guys on this team don't get down and that's a big thing," Howell said. "Especially with a young team and this early in the season, we're showing that we're pretty resilient." With 15 seconds remaining and his team down 88-87, Howell took the ball from the right side and into the lane with his left hand. He hit a shot from just in front of the free throw line, leaving 7.7 seconds on the clock. "I was just trying to get (PUC guard Bo Ray) in the air," Howell said. "When I made it, I thought I left too much time on the clock." Kameron Bright, who finished with 16 points and 14 boards to pace PUC, watched his shot from the right baseline fall short and the ball bounce around the rim as time expired. "We have a great deal of respect for Purdue Cal," IUN coach Pete Trgovich said. "I was concerned about whether or not (my team) was going to have enough in them, but they found something." IUN (1-1) was down by 10 points or more for a significant portion of the game.

Pete Trgovich, III was named to the 2009 Kettle Classic, All Tournament Team.