The Ball State Cardinals beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday in double overtime in one of the craziest and most controversial endings that we have seen the entire 2015-16 college basketball season.
Ball State’s Francis Kiapway won the game with a buzzer-beating three-point shot in a sequence where multiple fouls, two jump balls, and two travels could have and, admittedly by the Mid-American Conference, should have been called.
This controversial steal and 3 gave Ball State a double-overtime win.
Should the refs have blown the whistle? https://t.co/M3JImakV8Q
— ESPN (@espn) January 23, 2016
Sunday night, the MAC released a statement saying that two of the three officials had been suspended after the controversial ending.
“The final play of the game was not handled appropriately by several officials and unfortunately took away from what was a highly competitive and entertaining game for the competing students and fans,” MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in the release. “I along with our membership have higher expectations and as a result have directed our coordinator of men’s basketball officials to take appropriate disciplinary action, including multiple-game suspensions.”
The officials have not been named, but the three officials working the game were John Gaston, Rob Kruger and Todd Williams. The suspended referees will miss two games and will not be allowed to work the MAC Tournament.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
