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Player Collapses, Coach Prays: The Miracle That Happened Next

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It was three minutes into the South Carolina State versus North Carolina State basketball game Saturday, but the crowd of a few thousand was unusually silent. 

Tyvoris "Ty" Solomon, a senior starting guard for South Carolina State, had stopped breathing while sitting on the bench and collapsed to the ground. 

The team's athletic trainer, Tyler Long, immediately started CPR. 

 Murray Garvin, South Carolina State’s fifth-year head coach, did the only thing he knew to do. He dropped to his knees and prayed. 

The rest of the team and the arena followed. 

"I asked God...I begged God, not Ty, not now," Murray told CBN News. 

Murray said, in that moment, he did not know what else to do. 

"It was one of the scariest moments as a coach and as a human being," he said. "As a head coach, you feel a responsibility of taking care of your guys no matter what." 

"The only thing I knew to do was to pray," he added. 

Solomon was resuscitated and then transported to Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina where he is still recovering.

Garvin told CBN News that he believed it was the combination of CPR and prayer that saved Solomon's life. 

"We all know that faith without works is dead," he said. "My faith and the faith of the arena...people were touching their televisions and praying." 

Those prayers have ministered to Solomon's mother, Delores Speights. 

"Just pretty much felt great to get the love, from people you know and people you don't know," she told the Raleigh News and Observer. "Just to know that there are still very good people out there and there are people that believe in the power of prayer and God. That is always good to know."

Garvin's decision to pray has not only touch Solomon's life but continues to impact people across the county.

He said he even received an email from Spain about his decision to pray. 

"It didn't matter black, or white, rich or poor....it's just been overwhelming, the reaction," he said through tears. 

"Prayer still works," Garvin added. "I am elated and overjoyed he is alive." 

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About The Author

Talia
Wise

Talia Wise has served as a multi-media producer for CBNNews.com, CBN Newswatch, The Prayer Link, and CBN News social media outlets. Prior to joining CBN News she worked for Fox Sports Florida producing and reporting. Talia earned a master’s degree in journalism from Regent University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.