Nuts and Bolts, Nuts and Bolts, We Got ....

We lost in the quarter finals of the state tournament last night. Dyer County hit a shot (I can't call it a three) as the clock ran out. We lost 70-69. They were a good and sportsmanlike team. I hope they win it all. There were some clock issues. Here is a summary written by The Tennessean's, Jeff Lockridge.

Jeff Lockridge


You want poised and observant officials.

You want a clock operator paying attention with competent equipment.

You want very little, if any, controversy.

You want everyone to be sure about what the saw, and more importantly
who won, when they leave Murphy Center each night.

This is, after all, the state tournament.

So what in the world happened Wednesday in the CPA-Dyer County boys
basketball state quarterfinal?

Let me preface this by saying I am a fan of Dyer County, its players and
think highly of Coach Derek McCord. They must be commended for a 70-69
comeback victory.

But was it just?

The last of what I interpreted as three gaffes in the final 15.4 seconds
was a judgment call based on visuals, so perhaps you can excuse three
officials for not spotting Rex Pierce’s foot on the 3-point line.

However, decisions regarding the two time issues before the shot are an
embarrassment for the TSSAA and its otherwise reputable tournament.

It’s anybody’s guess where the clock should have been at when it stopped
at 13.7 seconds as Dyer County worked the ball around the perimeter.
What seemed like several seconds had elapsed since Dyer County brought
the ball down from the other end of the floor with 15.4 seconds to play.

One head coach in attendance without a dog in the hunt said he thought
there should have been six or seven seconds left. I was thinking nine.
Either way, there was a lapse with the clock and the officials made no
corrections.

So my question: Why then make an incorrect modification moments later?
The clock was at 4.6 seconds when a timeout was called and then it
ticked down to 3.9.

So the answer was to put back up 7.0?

Here’s the kicker. CPA was able to run 2.1 seconds off the clock before
the foul after the time was reset. What it should have been was 2.5 seconds.

Last time I checked, it’s tough to get off a good shot from 19 (or 18)
feet away when you have to go the length of the court in 2.5 seconds.