Mick Riordan let it fly from deep at the buzzer. 

What happened next secured his place in St. Mary’s lore.

In front of a sold out Chaparral gymnasium, the junior swished a three to send his team to the Open championship game after shocking Millennium, 66-64. Only 1.5 was left on the inbounds play Wednesday night that ultimately clinched St. Mary’s ninth state championship appearance. 

But that’s all Riordan needed to work his magic. On the fly, and without any timeouts, St. Mary’s coach Damin Lopez called for Riordan to run a stagger play. 

The guard started in front of St. Mary’s bench before following the path of the three point line and launching the game winner that sent his fans into a frenzy. St. Mary’s Duke-bound center, Cameron Williams, was doubled team before the inbounds pass from the right side, partly allowing Riordan to maneuver around for the pass and have a wide open look.

“I think that’s the first game winner I’ve ever hit,” Riordan said. “So, a moment like that, it’s awesome."  

He drilled the three with University of Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd sitting nearby. 

Before Riordan’s St. Mary’s Hail Mary, the team made every effort to make sure somebody besides Adan Diggs took Millennium’s final shot. Diggs scored seven consecutive points to hand his team a 64-63 lead. 
During Millennium’s final possession, with two defenders guarding, Diggs passed to a teammate, who missed a three point attempt. St. Mary’s then grabbed the rebound and called a timeout to help set up the final second dramatics after a kick ball and a Millennium foul.   

St. Mary’s led 39-31 at halftime and 42-31 after a Williams tip in to open the third quarter. But that’s when the Tigers broke free, converting seven consecutive field goals and a free throw to jump ahead 56-44. 

The third quarter ended with Cameron Holmes spinning by a defender near the baseline for a dunk to put Millennium up 55-49. Another Holmes dunk gave Millennium an eight point (57-49) cushion.

But from that point on, St. Mary’s closed the gap and then had to contend with Diggs. 

“I thought we did a really good job of maintaining our composure,” Lopez said. “We stayed together. We didn’t get down when we were down eight, and we made plays at the end." 

With Holmes in foul trouble in the first half, Diggs scored 20 points in the first 16 minutes to help keep his team in the game. 

St. Mary’s (23-6) led 9-2 at the start before Millennium’s up-tempo game pushed into gear behind Diggs and the passing of Adrian Higuera. 

The duo connected during an ally-oop during that stretch. It was 15-14 Millennium after the first quarter.

Wednesday marked the heartbreaking final game for Holmes, arguably the greatest four-year player to suit up for Millennium. He will remain in state and play for Lloyd next season.

Holmes led 24-4 Millennium to a top-10 national ranking this season, a first for the program.