Via CBS
By Qwame Skinner on

For every insane last-second shot in the NCAA tournament, there’s a team full of devastated players on the other side. Friday’s first-round matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Santa Clara Broncos men’s basketball teams ended regulation with a last-second go-ahead shot and subsequent buzzer-beater to tie, bringing out myriad emotions for everyone involved.

With the game tied at 70 apiece, Santa Clara’s Allen Graves swished a three-pointer from the right wing with 2.4 seconds remaining. Then, Kentucky’s Otega Oweh proceeded to fly up the court and heave a shot from the March Madness logo and bank it in as time expired, a sequence that resulted in an electric call from CBS’s Spero Dedes and Jim Spanarkel.

Nate Gatter and Jordan Cornette were on the radio call and were just as stunned by the end of regulation.

Notably, Santa Clara had all of its timeouts remaining, which begs the question: Why not call a timeout and tell your team to foul up three points and send Kentucky to the line? As controversial as the method may be in fan circles, it almost certainly would’ve sealed a victory for the Broncos. Head coach Herb Sendek only had to call for a timeout after Graves made his last-second shot and tell his players to foul immediately upon the Wildcats’ inbound.

Well, apparently he tried.

CBS’s camera crew caught Sendek trying to call a timeout at the end of regulation, but it went unnoticed by the referees. NBC Sports’ Matthew Berry is of the opinion that Sendek would’ve had his team foul had he been granted the timeout.

In his postgame press conference, Sendek addressed the matter.

“I unequivocally called timeout but they didn’t grant it. I mean, I think the video evidence is clear,” the Santa Clara coach said.

Santa Clara lost 89-84 in overtime, ending what might’ve been a special run. As brutal as it is to see their tournament hopes dashed in any part to due to an officiating blunder, it wouldn’t be March without a little bit of chaos and heartache.

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.

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