Justus McNair already had a reputation for the big moment. On Friday night at Mackey Arena, he added the biggest one yet.
With 0.1 seconds left in double overtime, the Valparaiso guard rose up and buried a buzzer-beating 3 to beat Purdue, 83-80. The shot sent the Boilermakers home stunned and gave Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. a reason to celebrate a former teammate’s latest hero turn.
Fears, who played with McNair at Joliet West, shared the clip on his Instagram story and added peeking eye emojis to the post.
The two were teammates during Fears’ senior season at Joliet West, after he returned to his hometown school following a two-year stretch at La Lumiere to spend one season alongside his younger brother, Jeremiah. That year, Fears put up 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, while McNair contributed 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.
McNair’s game-winner wasn’t a one-off, either. He also drilled a halfcourt buzzer beater against Western Michigan on Dec. 20, 2024, a shot that landed at No. 1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 that night.
Valparaiso coach Roger Powell Jr. has his own ties to the area. He’s from Joliet as well, and played at what is now Joliet Central, where Jeremy Fears Sr. was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American Team in 2004. Powell was in the middle of his Illinois career from 2001 to 2005, and he earned two All-Big Ten honorable mentions in his final two seasons.
Friday’s win also carried a personal edge for Powell. In 2004, he helped Illinois win the first of back-to-back Big Ten titles with a victory at Mackey Arena. His former coach, Bruce Weber, was on the Big Ten Network broadcast for the Purdue game and later interviewed Powell after the biggest win of his four years as a head coach.
“Proud of me?” Powell asked with a smile in his postgame interview.
“I am proud of you,” Weber replied.
Powell also pointed to McNair’s knack for the dramatic after the game.
“Justus McNair, he’s made big shots like that,” Powell said. “I literally prayed for him to be born a long time ago, so hey, god bless we won. That is probably our biggest win in the program in a long time.”
Valparaiso needed more than one clutch shot to finish the job. Rakim Chaney had already tied the game with another buzzer beater to force the second overtime before McNair ended it.
The result came at a place that had been rough on Michigan State for years, though that changed this past February. Before then, Mackey Arena had been a house of horrors for the Spartans for 12 years.
On Feb. 27, Fears helped Michigan State to a 76-74 win there with 12 points and six assists.
Purdue has now dropped five of its past seven home games, including losses to Illinois on Jan. 24 and Michigan on Feb. 17.
Michigan State, ranked No. 6, opened the season 2-0 with wins over Quinnipiac and Toledo. The Spartans now turn to No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at Chicago’s United Center.
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