Old Dominion Gets Away With Six Players on Floor on Clinching Play

It is one of the most egregious mistakes a group of officials has made in recent memory. 

During the Sun Belt women’s basketball tournament, Old Dominion was inbounding the ball with a one-point lead and less than five seconds left in regulation against Troy on Friday. While both teams took their time setting up for the inbound play, it became clear to the broadcast team, the crowd and to both teams that Old Dominion had six players on the court. The referees appeared to be the only ones who didn’t notice. 

The Monarchs’ Amari Young ended up getting an open layup because the Trojans simply didn’t have enough bodies on the floor. At the same time she got the open layup, the Old Dominion bench can be seen grabbing a player on the court onto the sideline so the referees wouldn’t notice the extra player. 

Troy’s season ended right there and despite their protests, the Sun Belt didn’t do anything to correct it. In a statement released shortly afterward, the conference acknowledged the blunder and said those officials would not work another game in the tournament. The statement explained that Troy should have been awarded two free throws and the ball, but the violation is not included on the list of calls a coach may appeal using replay. It’s something that should be spotted by the officials. 

“I apologize to head coach Chanda Rigby, the Troy women’s basketball student-athletes and the Troy community for the manner in which the end of the game was officiated. No one wants a game to end this way—especially during the postseason,” Sun Belt conference commissioner Keith Gill said in the release.