Scoring Error at End of Game (help with situation)
 

This will be long, so please bear with me.

Last night in a highly competitive BV game, we had an unusual situation arise. With about 15 seconds left, the home team is up by 3 and misses the front end of a bonus free throw. Visitors rebound come down the floor and pull up for a "3", however the shooters foot is barely, but clearly, on the 3-pt line. Trail official (his primary) points towards the ground indicating a 2-pt attempt and no other official signals that it was a 3-pt attempt.

The visiting player makes the shot and the everyone in the gym, except the 3 referees and the visiting coach thinks it is a 3, tying the game. Gym is loud, and the score keeper put 3 points on the board and we officials don't notice that as the home team quickly inbounded and came up the floor and ultimately hit a game winning shot with 1.5 seconds on the clock.

I know we should have caught the scoring mistake on the scoreboard, but the game was so intense no one thought to take the eyes off of the players.

My question is, what is the proper outcome/procedure if the home team ends up missing that last shot? Scoreboard showed 66-66 when he took the shot and both teams played it out thinking that was the proper score when in fact the correct score was 66-65.

Again, the score "should" have been discovered at the time, but it wasn't and the table crew members are very experienced and you wouldn't expect that error to come from them. Please help with Rule and Case Book notations if possible.

Thanks in advance.

This is a scorer's error, not a correctable error. It can be corrected at any time until all three officials leave the confines of the gym. If the game had gone into overtime...and the overtime had started, then the score can be corrected (award 2 points instead of 3), but the overtime must be played to its conclusion.

Casebook 2.11.10

So, you are saying that if that final shot doesn't go in we can correct the score after the final horn? It is an ugly situation because even the team that ultimately won (home) thought they were tied and the visiting team didn't foul because they thought it was tied as well. No win situation, unless you catch the scoreboard error right away.....

I'm curious about your mechanic. Is there anything else you do to distinguish a 2 from a 3, before and/or after the shot?

Not a correctable error
 

I like to think of this as an error that we can correct. Correctable errors are errors by the officials that have certain time parameters for corrections. This is a record keeping error, the officials made no mistakes.

Therefore, you were well within your right to correct this at the end of the game and thus avoid overtime. As a matter of fact, you still should have corrected the score so that the end result was 68-65 officially.

2.11.10 SITUATION C: The scorer mistakenly credits a field goal by A1 to B1 and Team B in the second quarter. The regulation game ends with the score tied. During a time-out in overtime, the scorer detects the mistake and advises the referee.

RULING: The referee will have the mistake corrected. The overtime will continue with the corrected score. Once the ball becomes live in the overtime, the overtime will be played even though a subsequent correction of an error or mistake changes the score. A bookkeeping mistake can be corrected at any time until the final score is approved.

I know it's not an "approved" mechanic...

but, if there is a really close shot (near the 3pt. line) and the shooter has indeed stepped on the line...

I look at the table and descretely put two fingers near my mid-section.

9 out of 10 times, the table crew looks like they have no idea if the shot should count as 3 or 2...then when I give them the "2" signal, they looked relieved and nod their head up and down.

Again...it might not be a "pure" mechanic...but, it sure alleviates possible problems such as the one in the OP.

"Just Communicate Baby";)

Well, I can honestly say I can't remember ever signalling "2" before, but in lieu of the circumstances, my instincts took over and felt compelled to make sure people in the gym knew I was looking at the play/foot because the foot was barely on the line. I know it isn't an approved signal, however I was criticised by an observer last year for not doing that in a similar situation so "when in Rome" came to play.

If there's a close play, I always show 2 if a foot is barely on the line. It can only do good, so why not?

I use the unapproved mechanic as well...yes, technically the lack of a three-point signal should tell the table it's a two-point shot, but it's a lot easier to just do the mechanic, and avoid the table being confused and possibly awarding what they think the shot was (I've seen it happen), and stop the game. Plus it shows everyone you were on top of the play.

*I also fully expect to see Billy tell us about how this is the mechanic in his little corner of Connecticut*

...and yet you still didn't signal a "2" when you were instructed to do so by your Roman advisor.

I bet you wished you had after this particular game.;)

No, I did do it this game. I was just always told not to do it in the past so I have refrained. Then last year in a MNSHSL playoff game I didn't do it and it was part of my observation report so I did it last night. I think it is a helpful mechanic as long as the observers agree.......

Same up here in Alaska, just an accepted practice. (Underlined part is my favorite reason to use it.)

What I want to know is: If NO official signaled a 3-pt field goal then why in the world did the Scoreboard Operator add three points to the score?

MTD, Sr.

...and the table crew actually observes you.