What would you do?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Then you're guessing too. The rule was put in to stop guessing. Apparently it hasn't.

That is not why the rule was put in Jurassic.

The rule was put in because the idea of "lag time" had become outdated. Starting in the NBA, then the NCAA, and now high school, officials can put back exactly the time that they observe on the clock -- rather than having to account for the 1 second "lag" time that was the previous rule.

That is what "exact" means in the second sentence of the rule. That the official MAY put back the exact time. It does NOT mean that the official cannot put back any time if they did not observe EXACTLY what was on the clock when it should have been stopped.