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Scoring mistake and Hornets loss stand
Montana admits its error and apologizes; Sac State moves on.
By Tim Casey -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 17, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C6
As if Sacramento State's men's basketball team didn't have enough recent troubles.
It now is the victim of a scoring mistake that affected its late-game strategy in Wednesday night's 84-79 loss at Montana and led to Montana officials apologizing for the error Thursday.
The Hornets had a point taken off the scoreboard late in the game, a blunder by the official scorer that ended up playing a large role in the Hornets' seventh loss in their past eight games.
The game was not televised, so Big Sky officials had not seen a tape by Thursday. They plan on reviewing the sequence today. Still, NCAA rules stipulate that the Hornets cannot protest the outcome.
"I can only imagine how upset the Sacramento State men's basketball team must be," Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said in a statement. "On behalf of the University of Montana, I express our deepest and most sincere apology."
With 5:14 remaining, Sac State's DaShawn Freeman made two free throws, cutting the Hornets' deficit to 72-60. Dave Guffey, Montana's assistant athletics director/media relations, said the scoreboard operator and play-by-play statistician showed Freeman had made both shots.
But George Scott, the official scorer, had Freeman hitting only one of two. During a timeout with 1:57 left, Scott said he called the officials and coaches over to the scorer's table because of a discrepancy between Scott's book and the scoreboard.
Because Scott had Freeman making one of two and there was no TV replay, the scoreboard was changed from the Hornets trailing 75-70 to 75-69. Sac State coach Jerome Jenkins said he disputed the decision, but it stood.
Guffey said the play-by-play was then altered to indicate Freeman made one of two, so it was consistent with the official scorer's scorebook.
"I have no idea (if I made a mistake)," Scott said in a telephone interview. "But I'm not infallible. If an error was made, it was regrettable. I feel bad."
Said Jenkins: "You depend on (the official scorer) to have everything right. When this hit, it hurt our momentum. But I don't think it was an ethical thing (by Scott). It was just a mistake."
It played a pivotal role later.
Clark Woods' three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining made the score 80-79 but would have tied it for Sac State had the point not been taken away. At 80-80, the Hornets could have played defense instead of being forced to foul, and the game would have gone into overtime with a Montana miss.
Instead, Woods fouled Kevin Criswell, who hit two free throws. Sac State's Loren Leath missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, and Criswell made two more free throws for the final margin.
Scott has been scoring Montana men's basketball games for 20 years, and Guffey said Scott had not made a mistake before Wednesday. Guffey said it's unclear if Scott would be disciplined.
As for the Hornets, their misery continues. After starting the Big Sky Conference season with four consecutive victories, the Hornets are 5-7 and in fifth place with two games left.
"I'm going to put everything in the Big Sky Conference's hands," Jenkins said. "This won't happen to anyone else.
"Everything's tough right now. We just have to take the loss and move on. We have to stay positive."
This isn't the first bizarre incident between these schools on the athletic field. In 2002, several Sac State football linemen sprayed themselves with nonstick cooking spray before a game against Montana. The spray gave them no unfair advantage (the Grizzlies won 31-24) but did focus an unflattering national spotlight briefly on the Hornets.
Montana admits its error and apologizes; Sac State moves on.
By Tim Casey -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 17, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C6
As if Sacramento State's men's basketball team didn't have enough recent troubles.
It now is the victim of a scoring mistake that affected its late-game strategy in Wednesday night's 84-79 loss at Montana and led to Montana officials apologizing for the error Thursday.
The Hornets had a point taken off the scoreboard late in the game, a blunder by the official scorer that ended up playing a large role in the Hornets' seventh loss in their past eight games.
The game was not televised, so Big Sky officials had not seen a tape by Thursday. They plan on reviewing the sequence today. Still, NCAA rules stipulate that the Hornets cannot protest the outcome.
"I can only imagine how upset the Sacramento State men's basketball team must be," Montana athletic director Jim O'Day said in a statement. "On behalf of the University of Montana, I express our deepest and most sincere apology."
With 5:14 remaining, Sac State's DaShawn Freeman made two free throws, cutting the Hornets' deficit to 72-60. Dave Guffey, Montana's assistant athletics director/media relations, said the scoreboard operator and play-by-play statistician showed Freeman had made both shots.
But George Scott, the official scorer, had Freeman hitting only one of two. During a timeout with 1:57 left, Scott said he called the officials and coaches over to the scorer's table because of a discrepancy between Scott's book and the scoreboard.
Because Scott had Freeman making one of two and there was no TV replay, the scoreboard was changed from the Hornets trailing 75-70 to 75-69. Sac State coach Jerome Jenkins said he disputed the decision, but it stood.
Guffey said the play-by-play was then altered to indicate Freeman made one of two, so it was consistent with the official scorer's scorebook.
"I have no idea (if I made a mistake)," Scott said in a telephone interview. "But I'm not infallible. If an error was made, it was regrettable. I feel bad."
Said Jenkins: "You depend on (the official scorer) to have everything right. When this hit, it hurt our momentum. But I don't think it was an ethical thing (by Scott). It was just a mistake."
It played a pivotal role later.
Clark Woods' three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining made the score 80-79 but would have tied it for Sac State had the point not been taken away. At 80-80, the Hornets could have played defense instead of being forced to foul, and the game would have gone into overtime with a Montana miss.
Instead, Woods fouled Kevin Criswell, who hit two free throws. Sac State's Loren Leath missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, and Criswell made two more free throws for the final margin.
Scott has been scoring Montana men's basketball games for 20 years, and Guffey said Scott had not made a mistake before Wednesday. Guffey said it's unclear if Scott would be disciplined.
As for the Hornets, their misery continues. After starting the Big Sky Conference season with four consecutive victories, the Hornets are 5-7 and in fifth place with two games left.
"I'm going to put everything in the Big Sky Conference's hands," Jenkins said. "This won't happen to anyone else.
"Everything's tough right now. We just have to take the loss and move on. We have to stay positive."
This isn't the first bizarre incident between these schools on the athletic field. In 2002, several Sac State football linemen sprayed themselves with nonstick cooking spray before a game against Montana. The spray gave them no unfair advantage (the Grizzlies won 31-24) but did focus an unflattering national spotlight briefly on the Hornets.
