An 'Inexcusable' Foul Call Helps Georgia Tech Over Penn State in Overtime

Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said the overtime call was "very unfortunate" and "inexcusable."

Author:
Mark Wogenrich
Dec 16, 2023 6:18 PM EST

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Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades said a foul call late in overtime was "inexcusable," as the Nittany Lions fell to Georgia Tech 82-81 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The foul led to two Miles Kelly free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining, neutralizing the Nittany Lions' potential second straight comeback from a double-digit halftime deficit.

Penn State (5-6) led Georgia Tech 81-80 late in overtime, when Qudus Wahab blocked a shot in the paint. Penn State's Ace Baldwin Jr. scrambled for the loose ball and fell to the ground. It appeared that Kelly tripped over Baldwin, who was called for a foul. After Kelly's free throws, Baldwin launched a long-range 3-point attempt that miss, ending the game.

Afterward, Rhoades disagreed with what the official saw.

"I didn't see anything," Rhoades told reporters in New York. "He blew the call, but that's how it goes. Ace was on the ground, and that guy turned around to get a shot off, and Ace didn't touch him with his hands. [Kelly's] left heel is the one that hit Ace. That's as clear as I can tell you. Look, that's part of the game, man. It's very unfortunate. To me, it's inexcusable. But that's life."

Penn State trailed Georgia Tech by 10 points with 5:28 remaining when it began the comeback. The Nittany Lions outscored Georgia Tech 13-3 over the final 5 minutes and had possession with 13 seconds remaining for a chance at the game-winning basket. Baldwin's long-rang 3-pointer came up short, forcing overtime. Rhoades said his team got the matchup it wanted, but the shot didn't fall.

"I've been through this before, and we're not going to make excuses," Rhoades said after the game. "We got ourselves back in the game to win the game. I thought we should have won the game but we didn't. We've got to be better. We've got to figure it out so we can put this game away so we're not in position to let someone else mess up a call."

Kanye Clary led Penn State with 23 points and seven rebounds. Baldwin had 18 points, seven assists and four steals. D'Marco Dunn scored 17 points, while Puff Johnson added 15. Qudus Wahab led the Lions with 10 rebounds. Georgia Tech outrebounded Penn State 26-8 in the first half, but Penn State cut that deficit to 21-19 in the second half.

"We had our opportunities to win the game," Rhoades said. "I was really proud of our guys getting back in it there late, rebounding better, because that killed us [in the first half]. And then we found some plays late to win the game, just didn't win the game."