MONTVALE, NJ: ROBBED! | Worst Game-Deciding Call in Championship History?
All I can say is, "........WOW!"
In one of the most exhilarating basketball games Montvale has ever seen, especially in a championship game, RUNt ran away with a controversial 63-58 win over Bad Boyz to repeat as Montvale's Ultimate Hoops champions.
In what seemed like a run away game for Bad Boyz from the onset, RUNt just never seemed to panic. With the likes of Vinnie Graff and Michael Kern, the game never got too far from reach for them. Both Mike and Vinnie made full use of the 3pt line and the gaps between the Bad Boyz' zone to claw back and give themselves a chance to win.
Fast forward to the last minute.
What happened during the last 60 seconds of this game is the epitome of what true #MarchMadness is all about. With the score tied at 56 a piece and RUNt with possession, Vinnie Graff, after signaling to his team to hold for one, weaves in and out of traffic to get into the lane for an easy 2.
Ensuing possession, Delroy Escoffery of Bad Boyz comes down and quickly answers with a layup himself after splitting two RUNt defenders.
And here comes the madness.
With 31 seconds left, game tied at 58, Vinnie Graff holds the ball out and decides to go for the last shot. So with 10 seconds remaining, Vinnie makes his move towards the rim and draws contact from Dave Jarvis, who is then whistled for the 2 shot foul. After much disbelief from the Bad Boyz side, Vinnie goes 1-2 from the charity stripe, putting RUNt up 59-58 with 6.7 seconds to go.
Now cue the insanity.
After Vinnie sinks the second free throw, Dave inbounds it to Dan Gashi, who races up the sideline and into the middle of court with Vinnie Graff on his left hip. After a lot of contact at center court between Vinnie and Dan occurs, and RUNt with a foul to give, one of the most controversial calls in Ultimate Hoops history is made. See below.
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Now, in real time from where I was filming at center court, knowing RUNt had a foul to give and witnessing the contact initiated by Vinnie, when that whistle blew I thought for sure it was going to be a foul on Vinnie. And a smart foul at that.
But when I saw the trail official signal the offensive foul, I could not pick my jaw up from the floor fast enough. It was, at that time before seeing the video, the worst call I had ever... EVER seen. And to Dan Gashi's defense, who was then ejected from the game for his argument towards the call, I cannot fault him at all for his actions.
In a championship game with 6.7 seconds left, unless it is an absolute BLATANT offensive foul, you either let that call go or call the safe, and justifiable, defensive foul. To go the other way on that call, you are really putting the game in your hands at that point and taking it away from the players.
I even thought the call against Dave on Vinnie was terrible, given the situation. Was there contact? Yes. Was there enough to call it? Not really. Let the players play and swallow your whistle UNLESS IT'S A BLATANT FOUL.
However, after reviewing the tape, there's no question Dan pushed off with his left arm. And in any other given circumstance, 9 times out of 10 it's going to be an offensive foul. But again, to reiterate my point, with the time and situation, it's a "hero" call that should've never been made.
Plus, Vinnie initiated the contact and the foul against him should have been called first. But it seemed the refs were going to let it play out. To then call the offensive foul that could've easily been ignored or let go, especially after letting Vinnie's foul go, is wrong.
It's not the way a championship game should end. With a double technical foul against Dan and an ejection, 4 free throw attempts from Vinnie (who went 2-4), 3 seconds left, and RUNt's ball, the game was over.
With all this being said, this does not take away from RUNt's win. By all means, they fought hard and found a way to come back and win. An overall team effort to secure a second Ultimate Hoops championship. Rob Cohan kept his cool and was a great teammate in a time of need.
The way this game ended just really took the excitement out of a great game. I hate to see a referee determine the outcome, but that's precisely what happened. That's why it's so hard to talk about anything else other than the last 6 seconds.
This game will forever go into the vault of historic calls that Ultimate Hoops has ever seen. Unfortunately for Bad Boyz they'll have to forever endure "what could've been". But for RUNt, their championship banner will hang nicely next to their first one.
Congrats to RUNt on their second championship and best of luck to them in the Northeast Tournament against the winners of Florham Park on April 11th.
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