Closely guarded

[Rich]

Had a tight BV game last night that ended up going 2OT and was won by the visiting team by one point (home team had a look at a 3 at the buzzer and missed).

Late in regulation, the home team was settling for a last shot and there was about 15 seconds left. Guard has the ball just inside the division line and the defender steps up and closes within six feet. I started a 5-second count. The defender never close to less than about 4 feet, but the rule was satisfied and I kept counting. Once I got to five, I whistled the violation (there was about 9 seconds left) and pointed the other way.

Home coach wasn't happy. First he asked how I could make such a call in that situation, then he claimed the defender wasn't even guarding his player. Bah. I was the new lead, so I didn't really stick around.

My partner almost had a similar call (on the dribble) in the first OT, but the kid dribbled away from his defender. On a timeout he said to me, "they have three assistants on the bench and none of them saw us swinging our arms?"

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the rule (I'd prefer a shot clock and a holding distance of 3 feet like the NCAA), but I have my arm swinging the entire game (it seems). The coaches expect it (on defense) and it's a POE.