5 seconds to go the other night in a 9th grade game, team A up by 4. Team A inbounds and advances ball to division line where B1 grabs A1 lightly around midsection, clearly not going for the ball. It was a wimpy foul at best and B's chances of winning are a long-shot. My area and I call - not thrilled - an intentional for not playing the ball (remembering the NFHS guide POE, p.11 "When a player fouls and the opponent is clearly not playing the ball, an intentional foul must be called."
Naturally the team and its fans thought it was excessive. I explained to both coaches and teams why I called it as I did.
Should I have done things differently?
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