Timer Makes a Mistake

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by Spence

Team A scores a basket with 3 seconds left. Team B calls a TO. On the throw-in B1 throws to B2 who has stepped OOB. B2 then throws a long pass to B3.

However, the scorer, not watching the official, starts the clock as soon as B2 catches the ball. The horn goes off while B2's long pass is still in the air.

Now what?

It is 01:40amEST (meaning that it is too late to look up both the appropriate NHFS and NCAA rules so I am going to confine my comments to NFHS rules and address NCAA rules tomorrow), so I am only going to say this once. The fact that the Timer has made a mistake in starting the clock when the clock should not have started does not negate the inbounds pass by Team B, nor does the sounding of the horn stop play in this play.

The sounding of the horn should have been a hint to the game officials that the clock was started when it should not have been started. There are only two ways that this situation can be handled and in both cases the game officials must ignore the the Timer's horn. There are a number of situations that can occur after the Timer's horn sounds, but none of them involve Team B getting a new throw-in on the endline in its backcourt with the right to move along the endline. I am only going to deal with two possible situations.


Situation 1: B3 catches B2's pass, and B3 does not have an uncontested drive to Team B's basket.

Situation 2: B3 catches B2's pass, and B3 has an uncontested drive to Team B's basket.


Ruling 1: The covering game official should stop play as soon as B3 catches B2's pass, reset the game clock to three (3) seconds, and award Team B a throw-in nearest the spot that B3 caught B2's pass.

Ruling 2: The covering game official should start a visible three (3) count as soon as B3 catches B2's pass and sound his whistle to stop play when his count reaches three (3) seconds.

But under no circumstances should Team B be made to do a do over throw-in along the endline in its backcourt with the right to run the endline with three (3) seconds on the game clock.

NO DO OVERS!!

MTD, Sr.

P.S. There was a long and spriited debate in a thread in this Forum regarding this type of play with 2.8 seconds remaining in the game a few years ago. And there has been either a Casebook Play or a Pre-season Rules Interpretation within the last two years supporting my rulings.

P.S.S, Good night all. Sweet dreams to everybody.