He Was Playing League Basketball When His Opponent Collapsed. He Kept Pumping His Chest Until Help Arrived.

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. - It was supposed to be an ordinary league game at the Bridgeport Sports Complex. Then Daniel Rowan, a man his family considered healthy and who exercised and played basketball regularly, fell to the floor. Mackenzie Holmes, who was playing against him, saw that Mr. Rowan did not appear to be breathing, and he began chest compressions at once.

On Oct. 26, the man he helped save sat in the audience with his wife as Mayor Robert Matheny of Bridgeport presented Mr. Holmes with a Good Samaritan Award at a meeting of the City Council, according to accounts by Connect-Bridgeport and WDTV.

Mr. Holmes, a Bridgeport resident who was once known locally for his tackling on the Bridgeport High School football team, told WV News that the minutes on the court swung back and forth.

"He did get his color back once. Went purple again. Got it back twice. Just didn't really know what the result was going to be," he said. "All I knew is that if he had a chance, this was going to be it."

When someone offered to take over the compressions, Mr. Holmes declined and kept going until paramedics arrived, WV News reported. The paramedics used an automated external defibrillator to shock Mr. Rowan before taking him away by ambulance.

The rescue was not gentle. Mr. Rowan broke four ribs and lacerated his spleen, Connect-Bridgeport reported, but he survived.

"Mackenzie jumped into action and was unbelievable in helping our staff," said Droo Callahan, general manager of the sports complex, known locally as The Bridge, which joined the city in giving the award. "He was the primary factor in saving Dan's life."

The plaque the mayor handed over read, in part, "in honor of courage, compassion and extraordinary service," and said that "his quick thinking, decisive action and willingness to act in a moment of crisis exemplifies the very best of humanity and the profound difference one person can make."

For Mr. Holmes, the most meaningful moment came about three weeks after the collapse, he told WDTV, when he was able to shake the hand of the man whose chest he had pressed on the gym floor.

"This was the most rewarding thing that I could ever ask for," he said, adding that what mattered was "knowing that he's at home now with his wife, you know, with his parents still get to love him. His brother gets to love him."

Mr. Callahan said the episode spoke to what recreation is for. "What sports is, is teaching people how to value others, work as a team and find leadership," he said. "Somebody that is able to step out of playing basketball and jump into that situation and save a life is way more important than anything else we do."

Mr. Holmes, for his part, turned the credit outward. "I did make a difference in keeping this brother in Christ here," he said. "But let this just be a reminder that the good Lord calls us to take care of our neighbors."

Sources: Connect-Bridgeport, Michael Minnich, Oct. 27, 2026 (https://connect-bridgeport.com/connect.cfm?func=view&item=Mackenzie-Holmes-Life-Saving-Actions-Recognized-by-Bridgeport-City-Council-The-Bridge64830&section=News); WDTV, Jill Fitzgibbon, Oct. 26, 2026 (https://www.wdtv.com/2026/10/27/bridgeport-honors-man-lifesaving-cpr/); WV News, Madeline Mayers, Oct. 30, 2026 (https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/mackenzie-holmes-preforms-cpr-saving-life-during-bridge-league-basketball-game/article_571da34e-3d5b-47bf-a82f-baf1b3888582.html). WV News spells the surname "Rowand"; Connect-Bridgeport and WDTV, which covered the council meeting, spell it "Rowan," which this article follows. All images are illustrative, freely licensed photographs via Wikimedia Commons.