[Ref in PA]

This happened last Friday and was brought up in our association meeting on Saturday.

B1 fouls A1 during a rebound. A is in the bonus. The R called the foul and goes to report. As he is reporting the table notifies him of a descrepancy in the score. The R blows his whistle and turns to his partners and verbally tells them to wait a moment. In the mean time the players have lined up for the 1 and 1 free throw. As the R is conferring with the table, he hears a whistle blow behind him and turns to see the ball going through the basket. What had happened is that the lead administered the FT and while A1 was in the shooting motion (just prior to release), the Center blew his whistle, knowing that the R was still at the table.

This was a prime example of failing to communicate effectively - even though communication was attempted.

The Ref on the floor called his crew together to determine exactly what had happened and when the whistle was blown. After gathering the facts, the R ruled that the FT counts, because the shooting motion has started. Even though the R wanted time to be out (while the issue was resolved), the lead made the ball live by administering the FT attempt. The scoring table issue was resolved and play resumed with the second shot at the foul line.

When I heard the play, I think the crew made the correct decision on the court. Others in our chapter felt that the FT should be disallowed because the R had called time-out to correct a scoring table issue and therefore should not have taken place. When play was to be resumed, A1 would shoot the first shot of a 1 and 1.

I am interested in your thoughts on this. Did the crew get it right?