The season is over

[blindzebra]

It ended last night.

20,000 seat arena...not full, but sure felt like it...state semi, and a rematch of last year's championship game.

We had several friends working the girl's semis so we made a day of it...we had the final game of 4.

After 3 games, two sloppy games where it was clear both teams had trouble adjusting to the arena and moment, and a blow out where only one team did, we had our game.

Game started out close, then one team went up 6 followed by the other. I had an intentional foul with 1.1 seconds left in the first quarter, after an errant pass was turning into a break away lay up, so the kid just grabbed him. My partner had a shooting foul with whistle and then horn to end the second quarter putting the underdogs within 1 point at the half.

Second half the defending state champs, star player took over and gave his team a 7 point lead for the most of the third quarter, but once again, the other team clawed back to get with 3 going into the forth.

The game was tied at the 3:30 mark, and then see-sawed the rest of the way. The defending state champs were up 1 with under a minute and I see something fly onto the court, from the stands, so I stopped play. The announcer made the 'don't throw things on the court' announcement and the underdogs asked for a timeout.

During the timeout the timer called me over to tell me he didn't properly stop the clock and time ran off that shouldn't. I conferred with my partner, since it happened when I was new trail looking across court to the opposite sideline and the game clocks were above the baskets and on the arena walls. He said he wasn't 100% sure of what should be the correct time. I go back to the table and the timer, both scorers, and the alternate official were all sure and the timer had the exact time, so we went with the that time and I informed both coaches that we were adjusting the time and adding 2 seconds.

The underdogs work the ball and after a skip pass, their guard has a seam to the basket and blows through for a floater to put them up 1. The defending champs come down and attack, but nothing opens up, so the coach calls a timeout with 11.7 left.

They run the star player on a loop past the thrower on the side to the endline where they set a screen on the near lane line, and then another at the FT line where he curls and gets wide open. The throw-in came into a player on the wing between the loop and the first screen. As he frees himself up, the player who had the second screener makes a great play and jumps into the passing lane and takes away the pass. The player with the ball had already started to make the pass when he saw the kid jump the passing lane, so in no mans land, he tried to throw it to a teammate up top who could not handle it and the ball was loose heading for the division line. The horn went off without them even getting off a shot.

51-50 and we will have a new state champion.

We had a great time.