Here’s a bizarre story.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference have disciplined officials after a mistake on a ruling application which contributed to Sioux Falls losing a women’s basketball game against Winona State on Friday. The mistake? The refs called a technical foul on Sioux Falls for fan interference once they stormed the court after an apparent buzzer-beating three-pointer that put Sioux Falls up 59-58. It turns out officials put 0.4 seconds back on the clock, as there was still time left to be played. With the technical free throws Winona State won the game 60-59.
https://twitter.com/AlexSchultz29/status/685654245157175297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
As the Star Tribune reports, the NSIC won’t reverse the result despite the incorrect ruling.
“It is important to state that overturning the result of the game cannot and will not be considered.”
The NSIC called the ruling an “unfortunate situation,” and said the officials misapplied a rule. Each official will receive a letter of reprimand and was suspended for four games and cannot officiate in the 2016 conference postseason.
“The NSIC takes all officiating matters seriously,” the statement read. “Although officiating is an extraordinarily difficult and often thankless job, the NSIC student athletes, coaches, administrators and fans deserve proper and consistent officiating.”
The story gets better, as apparently the referees were coaxed into making the decision, once Winona State coach Scott Ballard brought up the idea with officials.
“I put the bug in their ear,” he told the Winona Daily News “You can’t have people storming the floor before the game is over. That’s interfering with the conclusion of the game. There were hundreds of them. It wasn’t like a dozen. It was the entire student section.
