Todd Simon: Scorer’s Table Error Cost SUU In Double OT Loss To Cal
Nov 21, 2021, 7:15 PM
Head coach Todd Simon of the Southern Utah Thunderbirds reacts from the bench against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on December 9, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
(Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Southern Utah men’s basketball head coach Todd Simon said a scorer’s table error cost his team during a double-overtime loss to the California Bears.
The Bears hosted the Thunderbirds at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, California on Thursday, November 18.
SUU lost to Cal, 75-68.
Final.#StormTheSky pic.twitter.com/1xUk96nyZV
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 19, 2021
On Sunday, November 21, Simon told ESPN‘s Myron Medcalf that “gymnastics” at the scorer’s table error cost the Thunderbirds three days earlier.
With 14:02 remaining in the second, SUU center Jason Spurgin was fouled and went to the free throw line for a pair of shots.
Prior to Spurgin sinking both foul shots, the Thunderbirds owned a 41-34 lead.
After both free throws were made by the T-Birds center, the scoreboard was 42-34 instead of the correct of 43-34.
The clock runs out while we are tied at 57-57 and WE ARE HEADED INTO OT ⚡️#StormTheSky https://t.co/BjP79hWcBf
— SUU Men's Basketball (@SUUBasketball) November 19, 2021
Simon told ESPN that he attempted to correct the mistake during the game.
“At the time, I argued with the scorer’s table, and after a couple possessions, I got the officials’ attention,” Simon told ESPN. “The scorer’s table insisted they were right. Not much we could do beyond that. The lead official took their word and didn’t go to the monitor. Unfortunately, it had to take some gymnastics from the stat crew doing play-by-play, the scorekeeper, etc., to all make the math work. Their official stat crew made a free throw make a miss and a dead-ball rebound. Very bizarre.”
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The Thunderbirds went on to lose by seven points in double-overtime.
“The official should have handled it in the game is what I was told,” Simon told ESPN.
Simon added that the NCAA does not have a way to correct a mistake like this following the completion of a game.
With the loss, the T-Birds fell to a record of 1-3 this season.
Southern Utah’s next game is against the Yale Bulldogs on Tuesday, November 23 at 10 a.m. (MDT).
