One of the lasting images from New Jersey Institute of Technology's historic win over No. 17 Michigan will be NJIT guard Winfield Willis — moments after forcing a critical turnover in the final minute of the second half — pointing down to the opposite end of the floor while a slight smile crept across his face.
This was a key moment in the biggest upset of this college basketball season, one created by Willis, a Baltimore native and former St. Paul's standout who transferred from Division II Clarion to NJIT in 2012.
A 6-foot, 180-pound junior, Willis has started all eight games for the Highlanders, is NJIT's third-leading scorer and was one of the leaders of the Highlanders' 72-70 upset in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Willis scored 17 points. He was 6 of 7 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3-point range and forced that game-changing turnover with 44 seconds left in the second half and NJIT clinging to a 70-69 lead.
Reading the eyes of Michigan standout guard Caris LeVert, Willis jumped in front of LeVert's cross-court pass, deflected it with one hand and then lunged to gain possession near the sideline before shrewdly throwing the ball off of a nearby Michigan player before landing out of bounds.
Willis' reaction and the memorable point immediately followed.
"That moment right there was just a great moment," Willis said during a phone interview. "This is definitely something that I'll never forget. I still don't think I understand the magnitude of what happened, but this was great."
Willis was a two-time All-MIAA selection at St. Paul's. He averaged 21 points per game as a senior in 2009-10 and converted a three-point play with 5.2 seconds left in overtime of the 2010 MIAA B Conference championship game to lift the Crusaders to a 54-51 win over Archbishop Curley.