A trip to the Mavs game with some friends became much more for senior Cameron Knight who ended up featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top Ten Plays of the Day for his successful half-court shot after the first quarter of the Mavericks game.

“We were sitting there and I got called out by a guy down to the practice gym of the Mavs,” Knight said. “There were like 30 or 40 people and they were pulling out the people who didn’t seem very good.”

The group was quickly narrowed down to three people, including Knight, all of whom had a basketball background.

“We all did this challenge thing and I was the most consistent so they said I get to go on,” Knight said.

Knight, a varsity basketball player, took to the court and began his challenge, having to make a layup, free throw and a 3-pointer in 30 seconds.  Hitting each of those shots, he had two attempts at a half-court shot.

Appearing calm, he composed himself before the shot. He even waved his arms in the air to pump up the crowd during his preparation.

“Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous,” Knight said.  “But the basket was a lot further than I thought.”

In his blue and green flannel shirt and Vans, Knight took a deep breath and shot the ball in what turned out to be a perfect swish through the net. The crowd immediately went wild.

“My plan was to make it and just act calm to look cool,” Knight said, “but when I made it and I just kind of lost it and went crazy.”

Fans, reporters, and players alike were all in shock.

“I could tell from his first couple shots that he had a really good stroke, but I was still shocked that he actually made it,” reporter Royce Fisher said.  “I can’t tell you how many Mavericks games I’ve covered, and no one has ever made anything like that with me here. For him to be a high school kid is unreal.”

Knight’s friends, seniors Arun Sethi, Chris Ford, and Mitch Compton were at the game with him and couldn’t believe it either.

“I was in shock and couldn’t believe it,” Ford said. “I was very excited.”

When Knight’s friends at home found out about the shot, they immediately started tweeting a clip of the video to ESPN in hopes to get the shot featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

“I tweeted right after it happened saying ‘half court shot at the mavs game #SCtopten’,” Ford said.

Suddenly student Twitter feeds were erupting with tweets accompanied by the hashtag ‘#GetCameronOnSCTopTen.’ Just a couple hours later, Knight’s halfcourt shot premiered as the number 10 play of the day on ESPN.

“I haven’t watched it yet,” Knight said. “I’ve seen pictures, but I haven’t been home yet.”

For hitting each of the shots, Knight won prizes, including a blu ray player, a new sound system, a gift certificate, and a 60-inch television for the half-court shot.  But more than the prizes, he takes home a memory that will last a lifetime.

“It feels great. It’s completely unreal,” Knight said. “I’ll never forget it.”

See live footage of the shot