Should We Have Fixed It?

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by BryanV21

Just to be clear... I would like nothing more than to be able to fix this error. But we have to do things by the book. So I'm just looking for solid reasoning for being able to fix things.

That is the proper way to think about this.

Here is your rule support for fixing this.

2-11-11 "A bookkeeping mistake may be corrected at anytime until the referee approves the final score."

Now you must understanding that an official telling the scorer what to record is part of the recordkeeping process. If the official mistakenly says "blue 32" instead of "white 32", the wrong team is not stuck with a foul for the rest of the game. If the official mistakenly says "red 41" instead of red "14", the wrong player isn't stuck with the foul for the rest of the game. Furthermore, what if an official says "green 34" while indicating the numbers "3" and then "5" with his hand(s)? These are all simple mistakes that humans make. There is no intent under the rules to improperly penalize a team when an official says something wrong.

Your situation is no different. You correctly observed the foul and made the decision on the court regarding which player to penalize. You just got confused and messed up during the reporting process (and didn't the needed help from your partner). There is no rule which mandates that the reporting process is binding. You may fix the bookkeeping aspect of the game whenever necessary.