David Dixson and I traveled to the San Carlos Apache Indian reservation to work a girls first round state play off game last night – San Carlo's High School "Braves" (Yes, they call themselves the Braves) vs Sedona Red Rock "Scorpions”.
We arrived at the gym 1 hr & 15 minutes prior to Game Time and saw there was already a line of about 200 people waiting to get into the gym for the game!
As the Athletic Director (AD) lead us into the gym one adult fan in line started chanting, "Refs, Refs, Refs". The AD stopped, walked over to the fellow and said, "Gary, we won't have any of THAT tonight!”
The gym WAS PACKED for the game! 2,043 "Braves" fans and at least 3 "Scorpions" fans made the 5 Hour drive from Sedona...... Yes, you read that right, THREE scorpion fans made it to The game!
This may have been the BEST game experience Dixon & I have worked in our 8 years as a Ref Crew in terms of the games pace and action AND in the calls we made. It was nonstop excitement, run & gun all night long!
San Carlo's jumped out to a 11 point lead in the 1st Quarter hitting several 3 point shots but Sedona battled back to tie it at Half Time.
The lead went back & forth through out the 2nd Half with Sedona taking a 1 point lead with about 30 seconds left only to have San Carlo's take back a 1 point lead soon after.
During a loose ball scramble after a missed shot by Sedona, with 5 seconds left, a Sedona player was fouled. One of the better shooters for Sedona. It was the 10th foul on San Carlos, so the Sedona player went to the Free Throw line to shoot a Double Bonus. ( 2 Shots).
As I stood in the Free Throw lane to administer the 1st Free Throw I noticed a rather large Braves fan standing up near the Scorer's Table shaking his index fingers back and forth angrily suggesting I had messed up in awarding two shots and it should only be “1 & 1“ Bonus.
I generally do not interact with fans much, especially when they are irate.
However, sometimes during Time Outs when I am in-bounding a ball in front of some fans I'll ask, "Did you have to pay extra for these Court Side seats? They almost always say, "Yes! After which I'll ask if they get free popcorn & sodas? Sometimes, if the crowd seems friendly, I'll ask, "Did you pay a premium price for the "OK to yell at the Referees" ticket?” The best fan response I've had to date for that question was, "I thought that was included in the standard ticket price!" Apparently it is!!
But this time I stopped, looked the fellow in the eye, pointed to the Score Board which clearly showed 10 fouls against the Braves, held up 2 fingers and motioned for him to sit down.
The Braves fan looked at the clock, shrugged his shoulders and sat down as he gave me a dismissive "wave off". He wasn't happy being wrong, but at least he knew the Ref's made the call right!!
I'm thinking we have a good shooter, one of Sedona's best, at the line who might make BOTH shots to tie the game or take back the lead and was thinking thru the process of what Dixson and I would need to be paying attention to if either scenario happened. Both teams have used all their Time Outs, so San Carlos would not be calling a Time Out. They needed to get the ball far enough down Court in 4 seconds to take a decent shot at the basket and hope for a last second win, etc.
Would Sedona risk a quick foul since San Carlos was in the "1 & 1" Bonus and give San Carlos a chance to win the game at their Free Throw line? What if there was a missed 2nd Free Throw shot – what did I need to Watch for in the rebounding action? A sneaky push from behind, a grabbed arm, a player stepping into the lane too soon, etc. Making sure I am in a good position to get a "good look" or "good angle" on the rebounding players.
A LOT goes through a Referee's mind in a situation like that! 20+ years of last few seconds game experience flash through the brain in nano seconds – many of them mistakes I've made, vowing NOT to repeat them and cost any team a game by my own idiocy, etc.…
I was hoping she would make 1 Free Throw to tie the game so we would have an Over Time game. I was having so much fun I did not want the game to end!! The Sedona shooter miss BOTH free throws but the Scorpions caught what could have been a lucky break when the ball went Out of Bounds under the basket off a San Carlos player.
The ball was in-bounded to Sedona's tallest player who turned for a shot only to discover she was slightly behind the backboard. Her altered shot attempt banged off the rim but was rebounded by another Scorpion player who also missed a shot right in front of the basket. That 2nd errant shot was rebounded buy a jubilant San Carlos player as the buzzer went off.
GAME OVER. San Carlos wins by 1 and advances on to the State Play Off.
I feel bad for the Sedona girls – 2 free throws AND 2 shot attempts from within 3 feet of the basket with 5 seconds left and they miss every shot…… I expect it was a long drive home.
But I also have to be happy for the San Carlos team that came from behind in the last minute despite having 3 players Foul Out in the 4th Quarter and still managed to pull out the win!
Our last game for the season is a 2nd Round State Play Off Girls game in Prescott this Saturday.
2/19/2014
San Carlos HS - San Carlos, AZ
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