[eventnyc]

This article was published in Newsday and involved an official from my association. I removed his name. Was the enforcement correct?

Jeff Gold

January 31, 2006

The two coaches saw it one way, the official said they misperceived the situation, but in the end, the result was correct.

Westbury beat host Roosevelt, 53-52, in a Conference A-III boys basketball game last night, but for a moment, the Rough Riders thought they had pulled out a miraculous win.

With his team holding a 53-52 lead, Westbury's Bruce Chong went to the line with three seconds left. After he missed his free throw, Roosevelt's Jamal White launched a shot from around midcourt that went in off the backboard for an apparent winning three-pointer.

Referee XXXXXX signaled that the shot was good, and Roosevelt's stands emptied onto the court as the players and fans celebrated.

Not so fast. Because Roosevelt had reached 10 fouls, Westbury was in the double bonus, and Chong had merely taken the first of two foul shots. He was entitled to another one.

Westbury coach Dave Graff said he immediately knew the shot should not count. Graff said he "chased [XXXXXX] down beyond the Roosevelt bench as he was leaving the building" to argue that his team should get another free throw.

Roosevelt coach Tom Hammond agreed, saying: "The referee went to the scorer's table to signal that the basket counted and then started to head out. Then [Graff] got his attention."

Graff said the referees acknowledged he was correct and waved off the basket. Chong missed the second free throw and Roosevelt's second heave fell short, giving Westbury (8-0) the victory. Roosevelt is 3-5.

XXXX acknowledged signaling the basket was good but said he immediately corrected the error at the scorer's table.

"Absolutely nobody left the court or was in the process of leaving. The idea that anyone was leaving is completely untrue," said XXXXX, a 35-year official who said he has refereed 20 Nassau finals. "We knew the basket should not count. Regardless of what you signal, the important thing is to get the call right, and we did. The right team won. The only time I went over the halfcourt line was to tell Tom Hammond what was going on and that the game was not over."

Your opinion and rule reference please.