Photo: Glacier Media

A Port Moody high schooler's three-point basket has gone viral, being seen hundreds of thousands of times on social media, and making national headlines.

Reid Demelo, a Grade 12 student at Heritage Woods Secondary School never imagined his moment of sporting glory would capture the internet's attention, sparking an effort by his schoolmates to get him on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Demelo’s shot, just as time ran out in the Kodiaks’ opening game of their own senior boys' basketball tournament last Thursday wasn't his only basket. It wasn’t even the first time he had come off the bench from his usual role as team manager.

But, it struck a chord for inclusion. Demelo has Down syndrome.

“Reid knows everybody. He brings people together," says principal Todd Clerkson.

“Reid is such a positive individual,” said said Kodiaks coach Greg Schellenberg. “He’s got such a great spirit about him.”

With a crowd of more than 1,000 students chanting “We want Reid! We want Reid!” Schellenberg called a timeout with 35 seconds on the clock. Teammate Morgan Liski loaned him his #11 jersey, and Demelo "came out flying."

The game-ending buzzer sounded just as the ball crested on Demelo's second basket. And then, bedlam.

The bleachers emptied in a wild celebration. Demelo’s teammates chased him to the opposite end of the court, where they embraced their manager in a bouncing, roiling dance of unbridled joy.

“That was the best moment,” Demelo said.

Reid Demelo supported his @HWSSevents from the sidelines last year during the Provincial Championship. This year, he just sunk a three pointer at the Kodiak Classic.
—#VancouverBasketball#GrowTheGame#CanadaBasketball

?: Bar Stool Van (IG) pic.twitter.com/ld7LY63hmj

— Vancouver Basketball (@VancouverBball) November 29, 2019