Lipan survives, New Home’s game winner is late. Is making a shot in 0.3 seconds possible?
Carson Cook hit an apparent buzzer-beating shot over the Lipan defense, commencing a New Home celebration in what the Leopards believed was a UIL Class 2A state semifinal victory.
Although New Home believed they had the game won, that wasn’t the case.
While Cook’s shot was released before the game clock’s one-third of a second expired, the officials deemed the shot was not released in time and Lipan secured a 40-39 overtime win at the Alamodome on Friday to advance to Saturday’s state championship.
“I really can’t imagine what they’re feeling right now,” Lipan head coach Brent Gaylor said. “It’s a tough situation and I know that if it would have gone the other way we’d be heart broken as well, but fortunately enough we get to play one more game and I get to coach these guys one more time tomorrow.”
The game clock operator did not start the clock when New Home first made contact with the ball. It made spectators believe New Home won the ball game, but it is near impossible to get off a shot with less than 0.3 seconds on the clock.
Gaylor said the officials told him that it “has to be a tip” prior to New Home attempting the game winner. Although Cook got the shot off in a hurry, he did not tip or tap the basketball and had to shoot from a low height following a bounce pass.
“It was such a big call,” Gaylor said. “It probably would have been a little different if it was going to come down to double-overtime if it was good or not, but it was a win-lose for two different teams and their season was hanging in the balance. It was pretty emotional.”
New Home head coach Koby Abney also spoke to the officials before the shot and said his team had to “catch and shoot immediately.”
“I thought the shot was up before the buzzer,” Abney said. “But they pay them to make those calls. We’re not in that situation if we do a better job in some situations earlier. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.”
The NBA’s Trent Tucker rule “disallows any regular shot to be taken on the court if the ball is put into play with under 0.3 seconds left in game.” Human error when operating the game clock creates the illusion of a field goal attempt leaving the hand before time expires.
Tips, bounces and taps generally take less time than catching and shooting. Although the Tucker rule is accepted by most, some believe it is possible to get a shot off in 0.3 seconds.
“I literally saw the season flash before my eyes,” Lipan sophomore Darius Steed said. “All the hard work we put in.”
The NCAA rules state “no less than 0.3 seconds must expire when the ball is legally touched” and the National Federation of High Schools states that the ball must be tapped when the game clock shows 0.3 seconds or less.
Lipan waited for the decision and celebrated when the call was reversed. The Indians will face Shelbyville in the Class 2A state championship at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Lipan will atempt to secure back-to-back state championships. The storied program has made the state tournament 15 times and has appeared in six of the last eight seasons.
In the final moments of regulation, Lipan freshman Court Gaylor made a layup to tie the ballgame at 35 points. The Indians got another steal, but this time Court Gaylor missed the open, potential game-winning layup; his teammates had his back, drawing an offensive foul to keep the game tied.
Two free throws and a mid range jump shot from Court Gaylor, as well as a free throw by Steed, helped Lipan close the ballgame. Court Gaylor finished with a team high 27 points on nine of 20 shooting.
To start an ultra defensive first quarter, Lipan (35-4) and New Home (31-8) went back and forth, and the Leopards took a slight 9-8 lead into the second quarter. Lipan trailed the majority of the half but Court Gaylor hit three consecutive 3-pointers to give the Indians a a double digit advantage.
New Home surged back, however, and a 7-0 run cut the deficit to a single possession heading into halftime. New Home built on the momentum in the third quarter, extending the scoring run to 10 points.
Court Gaylor kept Lipian in the game with two field goals and a pair of three throws, continuing the elite play. Lipan stayed consistent, giving itself an opportunity to secure an win down the stretch.
New Home was led by junior Caleb Cook, who scored a team high 17 points. The Leopard’s inefficiency ended up being their downfall, as they only shot 31% from the field.
Abney, through tears, said that he has the utmost amount of love for everyone in New Home’s basketball program.
“I’m a better man, better husband, and better father because I’ve spent the last six years coaching these goofballs.”
Brent Gaylor said Lipan prides itself on it’s defense, and it led the Indians back to the grandest stage in Texas high school basketball.
“And there down the stretch, when they were trying to run off some clock, we were able to come up with two, big defensive stops and just found a way to win,” Brent Gaylor said.
This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 11:12 AM.
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