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Sunday, January 21, 2001

A&M-CC men drop controversial game
Foul call with no time left sends Arrow chasing after refs in 117-116 OT loss
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Ronnie Arrow thought he had seen it all in his 30 years of coaching, but he said he saw a few new things in his team's game against Belmont on Saturday.
   How about one team celebrating at the buzzer and running off the court only to be brought back out to play an extra three tenths of a second? Then, how about a foul called at the buzzer that results in one player shooting free throws with no time on the clock and both teams standing on their sidelines waiting for the outcome of the game? And the classic ending: one team mobbing each other in celebration, while the other team's coach sprints off the court trying to get a hold of the officials.
   That all happened in the much the much-maligned final second of Belmont's 117-116 overtime win over A&M-Corpus Christi at Striplin Gym.
   It all started after it appeared the Islanders had already won the game. With 4.8 seconds remaining, A&M-Corpus Christi's Michael Hicks made one of two free throws to give the Islanders a 116-115 lead. After the made free throw, Belmont point guard B.J. Proffitt took the ball the length of the court and threw up a runner in the lane that was blocked out of bounds by Pathe Diene at the buzzer. After the buzzer sounded, the Islanders sprinted off the court to celebrate. However, the officials gathered in the midst of the celebration and decided to put three tenths of a second back on the clock.
   Inbounding the ball on the baseline, Belmont threw an alley-oop inbounds pass to Wes Burtner. Burtner and A&M-Corpus Christi forward Brian Hamilton both jumped for the pass, but Hamilton was called for a pushing foul when he was in the air, sending Burtner to the line with no time remaining.
   Standing at the free-throw line while both teams stood by their benches, Burtner drilled both free throws for the win.
   "I don't care how many Division I basketball games you've seen, you'll never see a foul called with three tenths of a second left in the game; it just doesn't happen," Arrow said. "First, they put time back on the clock, then they call that foul with no time left. And you know what? The same official made both calls. He must want a job at Belmont or something."
   Arrow was so irate at the two controversial calls that he sprinted after the officials after Burtner made the game-winning free throw. Security guards grabbed Arrow before he could get to the officials.
   Burtner celebrated with his teammates after the win, but he admitted he had gotten lucky.
   "I was really surprised they called a foul in that situation," said Burtner, who led Belmont with 27 points. "I think I got hit when I went up, there was definitely contact, but I don't know if they should have called a foul like that with no time remaining. Luckily for us, they called it, but Corpus Christi definitely has a right to be upset about it."
   Hicks led A&M-Corpus Christi (9-10) with a game-high 29 points, followed by Lee Denmon's 25 points.
   The Islanders' 115 points and 14 3-pointers were both school records. A&M-Corpus Christi had a 16-point lead with 10:12 left in the game, but allowed Belmont to get back in the game when it gave up a 27-10 run down the stretch.
   The Islanders trailed 108-106 in the final minute of regulation before Hicks took over. On A&M-Corpus Christi's final possession, Hicks crossed over his man and drilled a game-tying 14-footer in the lane. On the other end, Belmont held for the last shot, but Hicks came up with a steal in the final seconds when the Bruins tried a backdoor-play for the win.
   "That was a great college basketball game, it's just too bad that an official's whistle had to decide it," Arrow said. "We're supposed to be playing Division I basketball, and we have officials calling ticky-tack fouls that decide a game."

   TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (9-10) - Atsbeha 4-8 0-0 11, Hemsley 0-0 0-0 0, Diene 0-0 0-0 0, Evans 3-8 4-4 10, Hicks 11-17 7-11 29, Denmon 7-13 5-5 25, Drasutis 2-3 3-4 8, Hamilton 2-2 0-0 4, Wainright 6-13 2-3 18, Shultz 0-0 0-0 0, Kirkaldy 5-7 1-1 11. TOTALS 40-71 22-28 116
   BELMONT (8-10) - Burtner 6-15 11-12 27, Mark 4-9 5-5 16, Booker 5-8 0-1 10, Proffitt 2-8 8-10 13, Couey 1-1 0-0 3, Sonn 10-15 6-8 26, Drabyn 3-6 1-2 10, Howard-Downs 1-2 7-8 9, Lannin 1-4 0-0 3. TOTALS 33-68 38-46 117 Halftime -Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 56, Belmont 49. 3-point goals - A&M-Corpus Christi 14-31 (Denmon 6-11, Wainright 4-8, Atsbeha 3-6, Drasutis 1-2, Evans 0-2, Hicks 0-2), Belmont 13-29 (Burtner 4-9, Mark 3-7, Drabyn 3-5, Lannin 1-4, Proffitt 1-2, Couey 1-1, Booker 0-1). Fouled out - A&M-Corpus Christi, Hamilton. Rebounds - A&M-Corpus Christi 34 (Hicks 8), Belmont 39 (Sonn 9). Assists - A&M-Corpus Christi 23 (Evans 7), Belmont 27 (Proffitt 8). Total fouls - A&M-Corpus Christi 32, Belmont 24. A - 837 (3,000).



Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

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