High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer. If a player releases the ball, "beating" the buzzer, so that it sounds while the ball is in mid-air, the shot still counts if it goes in. Often, a buzzer-beating shot will be released from long range (even from beyond half court), making for a spectacular play if it connects.