ANTONY STEWART | January 17th, 2012 | Townsville Bulletin

IT was the spine-chilling moment and creation of a life-long memory some players spend an entire career searching for.

Todd Blanchfield's stunning block on Sydney Kings colossus Julian Khazzouh at The Swamp on Saturday wasn't just an important play, his Crocodiles coach Paul Woolpert described it as "game saving".

If Khazzouh scores a seemingly uncontested layup, the Kings take a 99-97 lead with 38 seconds left in the first period of overtime and very possibly go on to win the game. Instead Townsville won the epic in double overtime, 118-114.

"I got goose bumps, shivers down the spine. Just to hear the crowd afterwards ... " Blanchfield said of the well-timed block. "But it was me that was the low help (in defence) it was my job to be the help man and I guess I just got there just in time."

Blanchfield may have played it down slightly, but in the context of the Crocs' season, it has the potential to be enormous.

Had Townsville been defeated they would have remained in a logjam outside the NBL's top four rather than having a handy buffer on the chasing pack as they sit in third spot with an eight-win, six-loss record.

"I think it was a game-saving play ... it was definitely the play of the game," Woolpert recalled.

"It looked like it was going to be an uncontested lay in and Todd came out of nowhere to block Khazzouh's shot, which would have been a huge play for them, but ended up being a huge play for us instead."

There's a strong belief within the Crocs that the game could prove the launching pad for Blanchfield stamping himself on the league.

The block was far from the 20-year-old Mackay swingman's only contribution.

He scored a career-high 15 points, including five in the first period of overtime, at an incredibly efficient six-of-seven shooting clip, while in a huge show of faith in the youngster, Woolpert kept him in the game for the entire 10 minutes of added time.

Although Blanchfield joked that it could have been a different story had his coach looked at his hands.

"I was actually saying to Paul after the game, when I went on to the court in the second overtime I looked at my hands and they were both shaking - I've never been in that situation before - but I was that nervous," Blanchfield said.

"So I had to keep saying to myself 'it's just another game, it's just another game'."

"It was definitely a great experience and I'll take a lot from it."

As import Elvin Mims continues to battle cramping issues - with the Crocs considering bringing in a specialist to find a solution - Woolpert said Blanchfield's impact in 2011/12 was only likely to increase.

"We'll solve the Elvin situation and we'll figure it out, but in the meantime we have guys off the bench who are stepping up ... and I like what (Blanchfield) provides off the bench," he said.

"We all know how talented he is and physically gifted, but combine that with a great work ethic and he's going to have a hell of a career in the NBL."