Referee stops game to allow back-up to enter NCAA tournament

A referee made headlines over the weekend for the right reasons during the NCAA men’s March Madness tournament.

Twelve-seeded Liberty was trailing fifth-seed Oregon, 78-46, during the final minute of Friday’s first-round match-up. Liberty went to sub in little-used sophomore guard JC Shirer Jr. to give him a chance to get some playing time in the NCAA tournament.

The clock continued to run, and neither team attempted to stop it. That is when one of the game’s referees stepped in and gave Shirer Jr. his chance to take the court.

A recent article from MSN.com detailed the referee’s feel-good actions. Below is an excerpt from the MSN.com article.

Referee Roger Ayers was well aware of what was going on and made sure Shirer Jr. got his moment. Ayers whistled play to a stop and pretended to clean a wet spot on the floor, allowing an appreciative Shirer Jr. to check into the game.

Thanks to his move, Shirer Jr. will always be able to say he got to play in March Madness. That might not have been true if Ayers had simply let play go.

Shirer Jr. had only played 42 minutes all season prior to Friday’s game and had only played in two games this calendar year. Most of his time on the floor came late in blowouts during the nonconference schedule in November and December, so it is easy to see why this opportunity was so cool for him.

Ayers’ move will likely get a much more positive response compared to what another official did in a different game Thursday.

Late in the game, as Louisville began to find a rhythm and mount a comeback, head coach Pat Kelsey stepped out onto the court and started barking at referee Brooks Wells, who ultimately called a technical foul.

That ended any momentum the Cardinals had created and led to fan outrage with one throwing a water bottle onto the court, delaying the game for several minutes.

During the delay, Kelsey and referee Ted Valentine exchanged words near the announce table and that prompted further outrage from the fans. As the heckling of Valentine continued, he turned to the crowd with a taunt of his own.

The original video included sound and it’s unclear how or why it was deleted. Once reuploaded, the video lacked audio but it did show Valentine blowing a kiss to the Rupp Arena crowd in Lexington, Kentucky.

To read the full story from MSN.com, click here.