Shot For The Ages Helps Heal University Of Albany Star Hooley's Broken Heart

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- His play on the court in the face of tragedy has galvanized an entire region in upstate New York.

With his clutch 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the America East Conference championship game on March 15, Peter Hooley sent the University of Albany back to the NCAA Tournament.

The shot is now officially the stuff of legend in the Capital District, but there's more to Hooley's story.

A lot more.

The junior guard, who is averaging 13.7 points this season, hit his shot for the ages a month after returning from his native Australia, where he had been spending time with his mother, Sue, prior to her death on Jan. 30 following a bout with cancer.

"I firmly believe that (Hooley's) mom caught that ball and threw it through the hoop for us," Albany coach Will Brown told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Monday.

Hooley wrote a guest column for the New York Post this week and talked about the range of emotions he has experienced over the last few months.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my head in my hands, eyes closed, just thinking about how I was going to prepare myself for this big game. I wanted to win this championship more than anything in my life, for my team, coaches, my family and most importantly — for my mum.

I opened a couple of letters that Mum had written to me over the last few years and just started reading them, over and over. It was the last letter, the most recent one, which really hit home. Mum had traced her hand on the back and wrote: "If you ever need a hand to hold, I'm always here. I love you son."

Hooley went on to talk about how it was difficult for him to leave his team in the middle of the season to go back to Australia, but said the fact that his teammates and coaching staff were 100 percent supportive made his ordeal easier.

When he finally returned to the states and tried to re-focus on the game and college life, he quickly became consumed with the idea of helping get the Great Danes back into the Big Dance.

As it turns out, "the shot" did a lot more than win a basketball game.

I started to get endless messages from people saying how that single shot had inspired them, and it made me start to realize just how incredible this miracle was. From radio interviews, to newspapers, I then found myself on the way to the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn., to appear live on SportsCenter. A dream of mine as a kid became a reality as I sat in the studio alongside John Buccigross and Steve Levy on live national TV. A chance for me to tell my story to the world, in hopes to inspire some people to keep flying through the tough times. Never would I have ever thought this would happen, and as hectic as the journey it has been, it's been incredible and something I will never forget.

Hooley will be back out there Friday night, letting them fly when Albany (24-8), the 14th seed, takes on No. 3 Oklahoma (22-10) in the second round of the East Regional in Columbus, Ohio.