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I am a firm believer that there are no do-overs in NFHS basketball. The rules just don't provide for it.
My ruling on the play would be that the goal counts. I would say that I have definite knowledge of an obvious timing error which I can correct and that in my judgment the tapping took less than .3 of second, so the goal is good.
The heart of my argument is that the referee can "correct obvious timing errors." (2-5-5)
The book says nothing about the manner in which the referee can correct them. It does NOT say that the referee is limited to adjusting or resetting the clock. Therefore, I take a more expansive view and say that the referee can correct the timing mistake by allowing a play and a basket to count if in his judgment it would have been legal action if not for the timing error.
To really understand my argument, consider the converse situation. Near the end of a quarter the timer forgets to start the clock. Let's say there was 1.2 seconds remaining. No one has a problem disallowing a basket and ending that quarter, if in the official's judgment the scoring play took longer than the time that was remaining. I don't think that any of us would have a do-over.
[Edited by Nevadaref on Nov 4th, 2004 at 01:33 AM]
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