The Technical Foul Heard 'Round The World

As you might imagine, Michigan high school basketball isn't something I follow, but I had to blog about it after reading two accounts of this game and watching the final seconds on video.

When the clock hits 0:00, and one team has more points on the scoreboard than another, the game is decided, right?
That's not necessarily the case, as the Macomb (Mich.) Dakota Cougars found out last Friday (Jan. 8). What happens after the buzzer sounds can be as important as the shots taken before it blows.

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Dakota's Mark Morris capped off a comeback over rival Romeo (Mich.) by nailing a 3-pointer from as time expired to give the Cougars a 63-62 win.
What happened next will be debated forever.
Rick Desotell in the Romeo Observer (FULL STORY), gave this account.

Reports vary, but the jist of the story is after Morris hit his shot he immediately started sprinting in the direction of the Romeo bench. Fellow players and fans followed and eventually wound up being a little too close and even on the Bulldogs bench. Words were exchanged and somebody got physical because the officials called a technical foul for excessive celebration on someone from Dakota, giving the Bulldogs two freethrows.

The story in the Macomb Daily was very different (FULL STORY), making no mention of any physical altercations.

"The buzzer went off as the ball went through the hoop," Cougars coach Bill Snyder said. "There was clearly no time left on the clock."

Morris made the shot into the basket in front of the Dakota bench.

At the other end of the court, Cougars players, coaches and fans flooded the floor in celebration, believing, Snyder said, the game was over.

Snyder said he stayed on the court to help restore order; in the meantime, Dakota's players went to their dressing room.

Where The Macomb Daily received their information is a little suspect. The article in that paper did not have a byline, so it's possible a reporter did not attend the game.

The Macomb article went on to quote Snyder theorizing that the"technical was improper" because time had expired.

Not so says the Detroit News' Tom Markowski: (FULL STORY)

According to Michigan High School Athletic Association rules, officials can call a foul, in this case a technical foul, as long as they have not left the court.

I couldn't find the rules online (most likely because they want you to buy a National High School Associations rule book).
When asked by Markowski about his possible protest to the state association (which was reported in Macomb Daily article), Snyder back-tracked.

"I turned it over to our athletic department," Snyder said. "We played last night (Tuesday) and we're preparing for our next game. Right now it's the furthest thing from my mind."

So, what does the video show? Yes, there is video. Local cable station WBRW televised the game and posted the video online (LINK)

The final play starts at 84:35 on the tape. The Cougars run the length of the floor and Morris hits the game winning shot (at 84:49). The Dakota squad runs down the floor (led by Morris) towards the Romeo bench. At 84:57 you see Dakota's number 23 shove a Romeo player (the Dakota roster on the web site is from last year, so I can't identify the player). The squad and fans congregate inches from the Romeo bench to celebrate. The officials try and move the team away. At 85:11, you can see the two coaches argue. At 85:17, Dakota's number 25 shoves a player.

What happened with the technical shots? The Romeo shooter made 1-of-2 to tie the ballgame. In overtime, Romeo dominated Dakota, winning the game 77-71.

Clearly, the video shows "technical-worthy" offenses from the visiting Dakota team. In accordance to the rules, the game isn't over until the officials leave the floor. That means the officials made the right call and maybe we can all learn a lesson in winning the right way.

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LEFTOVERS: 1. It is clear that the Macomb Daily needs to do some better reporting. They didn't appear to be at the game (there was no byline) and only talked to the Dakota coach and a Romeo assistant. They didn't seem to get a clear picture of what happened. Much of the article was devoted to giving the Dakota coach a platform to argue his flawed case.
2. The Romeo Observer account gave a better picture, but added a little opinion too. The writer did not give a source or background on the rule.
3. It is admirable what WBRW does in televising Romeo athletics on cable. However, the broadcast team really takes the spotlight off the students when they continue to talk about the officiating. The amount of time that they analyzed the officials bordered on ludicrous.