(CNN) � You might think you’ve seen everything in sports. Well, that was until you saw the feat � or feet, if you will � that Rasheed Bello was able to achieve on Wednesday.
Midway through the game between the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons and the University of ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Indiana Screaming Eagles, Bello lost his right shoe in the middle of a play.
Instead of stopping to put it back on and hampering his team’s efforts on defense, the guard picked up his fallen sneaker and remained in the play.
And when ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Indiana’s Jack Campion rose up to attempt a shot from just inside the three-point line in front of Bello, the junior proceeded to use his stricken shoe â€� still held in his right hand â€� in the most unconventional way: to block Campion’s shot.
Extraordinarily, Bello’s size 12 shoe stopped the effort from going anywhere near the basket and allowed his fellow guard, Quinton Morton-Robertson, to recover possession for the Mastodons.
According to off-duty referee and University of ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Indiana announcer Zane Clodfelter, , using a shoe to block a shot is within the laws of the game, as long as it isn’t thrown.
“The first player to ever record a block with a shoe?� the Mastodons� official X � formerly known as Twitter � account , before suggesting it be sent to Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Fort Wayne head coach Jon Coffman praised Bello’s quick-thinking and defensive effort, on social media: “We talk about ‘Whatever It Takes� to get a stop!�
“I’ve never seen that before in my life, and even the referee said he’s never seen it before,� Screaming Eagles head coach Stan Gouard , per the Evansville Courier & Press. “A first in my 25 years of coaching. Never saw it before.�
The shoe-block kick-started a late-game surge from the Mastodons who took a 70-57 victory to move to 9-1 on the season, with Bello himself contributing 12 points and five rebounds, as well as the unusual block.
Bello is , having led the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in steals last season during his time with the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers.
Though he might not be encouraged to continue utilizing the ‘shoe block� technique, in times of need, Bello knows he can turn to his unorthodox form of defense to help his team.
The-CNN-Wire
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