A bad call comes at the worst of times

Ned Barnett, Staff Writer
ORLANDO, FLA.--Marcus Melvin stood in the N.C. State locker room explaining what it was like for his college career to end on a miracle comeback by Vanderbilt when coach Herb Sendek came in and sat down on a bench. He stared at the play-by-play recap in his hands.

It was the official record of what happened, but it read like fiction, science fiction. It was something from "The X-Files" with the "X" being the crossed arms of a referee signaling an intentional foul on Melvin.

Here was what it said: An entire basketball team on a flight to Phoenix suddenly was zapped back to Orlando. The Wolfpack was all but in the NCAA Tournament's third round when it was transported back in time and knocked out of the tournament.

Unbelievable, but true. In the space of about three minutes, the Wolfpack and its fans were transformed from exhilarated to X-ed out.

"As you guys know, I am not at liberty to comment on officiating," Sendek said.

That didn't stop others. On television, CBS analyst Len Elmore declared the intentional foul "bad call, bad call." Pack fans said it was wrong, wrong, wrong. The critics were right, but nothing can make it right.

It's over. Gutty Vanderbilt goes on. Hard-luck State is out.

This excruciating turn of events was made worse because it wasn't a first. State was still mentally recovering from a miracle comeback by Maryland in the ACC Tournament semifinals. That, too, was triggered by an odd call, a technical foul called on State when a manager took too long to wipe up moisture in front of the State bench. The official, Larry Rose, later apologized, saying he wouldn't make that call in that situation again.

There were no immediate apologies Sunday, but it was a bad call at the worst time based on a fuzzy rule.

Defenders routinely break up sure layups with deliberate contact when the situation dictates. Under the rule, it's a regular foul so long as the defender makes an effort to reach for the ball.

Official David Libbey didn't see that effort from Melvin. He called Melvin's break-up of Corey Smith's layup an intentional foul. That gave Vandy two foul shots and possession of the ball when the sinking Commodores seemingly had sent up their last flare.

Vanderbilt made the most of it. Smith hit both free throws and Mario Moore followed with a clutch 3-pointer. Suddenly Vanderbilt was within one point with 1:43 to go.

A season expired in the next 90 seconds as State made its ghastly slide out of the round of 16. Lion-hearted Ilian Evtimov clawed State back into a one-point lead by hitting two free throws with 33.6 seconds left. But Vanderbilt followed with an old-fashioned three-point play that sent State to a 75-73 defeat.

It happened very quickly, but it will be remembered a long, long time.

No one wants to complain about officials' calls as the cause of a team's downfall. As long as humans call the game, there will be mistakes, and usually they even out. Officials perform a hard job before thousands of critics. They should be supported. But the problem here was both the call and the rule.

Even if technically correct, it's a judgment call, and good judgment says you don't award a possession in the closing minutes of a tight tournament game unless the foul is committed with an ax.

The call shouldn't turn on whether a defender's hand gets close enough to the ball. And, obviously, officials routinely disregard that standard as defenders grab players to stop the clock.

The call didn't decide the game, but it made a miracle possible. Vandy deserves credit for seizing the opportunity.

Vanderbilt won because it didn't quit. And because the Commodores have a senior forward named Matt Freije who picked up his team and refused to lose. His 31 points put Vanderbilt ahead in the first half and brought it back in the second.

State had grit, too. All that Freije was on Sunday, Evtimov was, too. It seemed like his 28 points were going to be enough. They should have advanced State's excellent season, continued a college career for Melvin and bought time for injured senior Scooter Sherrill to come back.

Instead, Evtimov was sitting glumly in the losing locker room, and Sherrill was beside him with his head in his hands.

"We did have a good season. Nothing is going to change that," Evtimov said, "but people are going to remember how you finish."

Sendek said, "You've got to credit Vanderbilt. They made some terrific offensive plays down the home stretch."

He added, "Our men are anything but losers. Our tremendous win is our great season."