Pugh, who was the first contestant selected to the dunk contest back in February, squared off against eight competitors from around the country. The Sacramento, Calif., native finished ahead of six other individuals, but could not get over the hump in the final round against Katelynas, who scored a perfect 60.0 to win the title.

Each competitor got two dunks in the first round as Pugh opened by dunking with his elbow in the rim. For his second dunk, the high flyer donned a throwback Julius Erving (Dr. J) jersey while throwing down a 360 degree dunk that earned him a perfect score (60.0).

“Watching Dr. J as a kid really inspired to me to play basketball and start dunking,” Pugh said. “I felt it was appropriate to show him some love and break out his jersey for the 360.”

The 6-5, 225-pound Pugh advanced with three other competitors to the semifinals as Ed McCants (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Chuck Hayes (Kentucky), Rawle Marshall (Oakland) and Jason Maxiell (Cincinnati) were each eliminated after the first round.

For his semifinal dunk, Pugh brought Oklahoma State’s John Lucas out of the crowd and jumped over him while throwing down a dunk to earn him a 59.5 and a spot in the championship round against Katelynas. Wesley Duke (Mercer) and Daniel McGaffeny (West Virginia Tech) were both eliminated in the semis.

In the championship round, Pugh tried to go between the legs as he went up for his dunk, but missed the attempt as time expired. Katelynas then won the contest with a dunk that earned him a perfect score. Pugh had the support of Sacramento State teammates Chris Lange, Zane Beekman, DaShawn Freeman and Randy Adams who were in attendance, as well as his mother and other family members.

“To have that type of support in the stands from your teammates and family was very special,” Pugh said. “It’s always great to look over and see your mother in the stands more excited than everyone else in the gym.”

Pugh, who was a first team all-Big Sky Conference performer this year and was named the World’s Best Dunker by Slam Magazine in 2000, finished his senior season with averages of 15.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

“I’ve had a great time in St. Louis during the festivities and was honored to be selected to the dunk contest,” Pugh said. “The guys in this competition had a lot of talent and I enjoyed competing against each of them.”

Pugh was the first Sacramento State player to ever be invited to the dunk contest as ESPN has hosted the event for the past 17 years. ESPN will rebroadcast the dunk and three-point shooting contests on April 2 (Noon on ESPN), April 3 (9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2) and April 7 (11 a.m. on ESPN).