College Basketball Player’s Dunk Collapsed the Entire Hoop

Thursday night’s men’s basketball game between the Merrimack Warriors and LIU Sharks featured a brief and very unusual delay after what should have been a routine play. 

Midway through the second half, LIU turned the ball over, leading to a Merrimack fastbreak. Warriors guard Jordan Derkack collected the loose ball and threw down an easy dunk. 

Simple enough, right? Except the entire basket began to sag to the floor as Derkack hung on the rim. The sight of Derkack swinging from the rim as it slowly lowered to the floor was absolutely hilarious. 

Bringing down the hoop like that brings to mind memories of when Shaquille O’Neal snapped the entire backboard off its stanchion during a game in 1993. But Shaq’s play was much more dangerous and destructive. It came crashing to the floor and nearly hit O’Neal in the head. Derkack just got a leisurely ride back down to the floor. 

Derkack wasn’t just destroying equipment on Thursday night on Long Island. He also destroyed the Sharks, putting up 34 points in Merrimack’s 82–79 overtime win. The Warriors are now tied for first place in the Northeast Conference with an 8–2 record.