Did I handle my mistake correctly?

[kblehman]

I worked an 8th grade boys game last night. Team A was bigger, quicker, and more athletic than Team B so it quickly became a blowout. In the 2nd quarter Team A scored to make it 24-7, then continued their full court press. Team B coach starts hollering at me "they can't press with a 15-point lead!"

[Mea Culpa: I was unaware of that MS rule for this league. Yes, I should've known (or asked) about the 'no press' rule prior to the tip, so I recognize and admit my mistake.]

By the time I figured out what he was saying, Team B already had the ball over half court. I was trail on the bench side so I said, "Coach, I was unaware of that league rule" and let them play on. He yelled, "aren't you going to blow the whistle or something?" Just then his team turned the ball over (again) and Team A scored on a fast break. I immediately blew my whistle for an officials' time out and went to the table to verify, where the scorer and Team A coach confirmed the 15-pt no press rule was in effect.

I reminded Team A they could no longer press, apologized to the coach of Team B for not knowing the rule, then put the ball back in play on the end line for Team A.

I didn't blow the play dead when I realized what he was saying because a) his team was already in the front court, and b) I didn't know if he was right. So I waited until it became an issue in the game again. Should I have handled it differently?


On the plus side, I was aware of the 30-pt running clock rule, so the second half only took about 20 minutes.