Mass High School Tourney problems

[hoopguy]

I have been lurking on this board for a long time and came across this story. What do you think would be the proper decision?

link
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/h...lbb&position=3

Double dip for Ipswich
By Dan Ventura
Friday, February 29, 2008 - Added 13h ago
+ Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio Boston Herald Sports Reporter
Danny Ventura has been the Herald's authority on high school sports for 15 years. He also covers the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and college sports.
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North girls basketball tournament director Tony Romano insisted no one from the MIAA issued any edicts declaring Ipswich the winner of Tuesday’s controversial 52-51 loss to Watertown.

The story making the rounds was that the MIAA admitted an error was made in the final seconds of the game and awarded Ipswich the victory but stopped short of allowing the Tigers to play in tomorrow night’s Division 3 North quarterfinal against Winthrop.

“I am the tournament director and I haven’t issued any statements,” said Romano. “The only people above me are the MIAA directors and they have not issed any statements on this. It would be inappropriate for us to review any judgments made by game officials because they are subjective.”

The craziness began when Lyndsay French hit a 3-point shot with 3.8 seconds to play, which would have given the Tigers a 54-52 lead. The officials waved the shot off, saying Ipswich coach Mandy Zegarowski called a timeout prior to the basket.

The problem began when more than three seconds elapsed between French’s basket and the timeout, leaving the Tigers with just 0.3 seconds on the clock. Despite the protests of Zegarowski, officials refused to put time back on the clock.

Amber Smith then scored off the inbounds play to give the Tigers what would have been a 53-52 win.

The game officials, however, ruled Smith’s shot was released after the buzzer, citing the tap rule, and the Red Raiders had the upset.