How good? Let's just say he could make an instant impact on the Rens' senior squad should he be moved up next season.
Whether they decide to do that or not, his future is definitely bright at Grand River.
The junior superstar added to his already ridiculous resume by nailing ANOTHER game winning buzzer-beater as the (#2) Grand River Renegades came from behind to defeat the (#3) Cameron Heights Golden Gaels (45-42) in the first WCSSAA junior semifinal at Preston HS on Saturday afternoon.
To set up Murray's heroics, we first have to go back about a minute prior with Cameron Heights leading 42-39 and about 1:08 still to play.
Needing to get the ball back while the Gaels were content to run clock, the Rens fouled Gael guard Gordan Erkic, who missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.
Back the other way, a Grand River attempt was missed, and then the Rens (forced to foul) sent Sasha Simic to the line for a one-and-one. Though Simic was 4-of-4 from the line to that point, he also missed the front-end and the Rens received the ball on the ensuing tip out of bounds.
Cue the Jamal Murray show.
On a high screen-and-roll, Murray calmly stepped back and drilled a deep three-ball to tie things up at 42 and just under :40 to play.
The Gaels would hold for the last shot, which was a contested attempt by Junior Bradford. The ball subsequently went out of bounds to Grand River, and only about 7 seconds on the clock.
HOWEVER, on the inbounds pass, the Rens were looking for Murray but the ball was thrown a bit long, and tipped off of his hand out of bounds. So, the Gaels would have the ball and 5 seconds to play.
After a Cameron Heights timeout, they successfully inbounded the ball. However, Murray stole a pass, took a couple of dribbles, and launched a buzzer-beating effort from just inside the half-court line. It rattled in, to set off a frantic GRCI celebration inside the Preston gymnasium.
It was a picture of polar opposites as Murray and the Rens celebrated and chest-thumped while the Gaels sat or laid in stunned silence on the court.
[Sidenote: If anyone has video of it, shoot me an e-mail and I'd be happy to put it up. Definitely a "YouTube worthy" moment]
If you recall, Murray also hit a three-point buzzer beater against Cameron Heights during their regular season game, a 56-54 thriller.
He finished with a game-high 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists on this night. Other Rens on the scoresheet included Murtada Khamis (12), Joedey Wonch-Castiglione (5), David Bajic (2), Adi Trtovac (2), and Patrik Odouk (2).
On Cameron's side, Sasha Simic and Gordan Erkic led the way with 10 each, while Nikola Farkic had 9. Also scoring for CHCI were Adrian Henry (7), Junior Bradford (4), and Korbil Gany (2).
The game also served as an "AAAA" CWOSSA qualifier, so the Rens will also advance to next weekend's "AAAA" CWOSSA tournament in Guelph.
Boxscore
CHCI 09-14-13-06 = 42
GRCI 09-11-14-11 = 45
Cameron Heights
N. Farkic 3-10 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 1 Ast - 9 Pts.
G. Erkic 5-10 FG, 0-1 FT, 2 Reb, 1 Ast - 10 Pts.
J. Bradford 1-5 FG, 2-2 FT, 9 Reb, 3 Ast - 4 Pts.
S. Simic 3-13 FG, 4-5 FT, 4 Reb, 1 Ast - 10 Pts.
K. Gany 1-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
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A. Henry 2-5 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 Reb, 0 Ast - 7 Pts.
J. Do 0-0 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
P. Gavirneni 0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 0 Reb 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
N. Trninic 0-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
Field Goals: 15-46 (.326). Free-Throws: 9-12 (.750). Three-Point Goals: 3-17, .176 (N. Farkic 3-10, J. Bradford 0-1, P. Gavirneni 0-1, S. Simic 0-5).
Grand River
M. Khamis 4-12 FG, 4-7 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Ast - 12 Pts.
A. Trtovac 1-8 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
J. Murray 6-15 FG, 7-8 FT, 7 Reb, 3 Ast - 22 Pts.
W-Costiglne 2-6 FG, 0-0 FT, 5 Reb, 0 Ast - 5 Pts.
Petkovic 0-3 FG, 0-0 FT, 4 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
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D. Bajic 1-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 2 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
Iliev 0-2 FG, 0-0 FT, 1 Reb, 0 Ast - 0 Pts.
P. Odouk 1-1 FG, 0-0 FT, 3 Reb, 0 Ast - 2 Pts.
Field Goals: 15-49 (.306). Free-Throws: 11-15 (.733). Three-Point Goals: 4-21, .190 (j. Murray 3-7, J. Wonsch-Costiglione 1-3, D. Bajic 0-1, Iliev 0-1, M. Khamis 0-4, A. Trtovac 0-5).
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