Refs got wild Butler-Pitt finish right

WASHINGTON -- Those who lived Butler's wacky, last- split-second 71-70 upset of Pitt Saturday night understood.

While the commentariat immediately set about questioning the wisdom of two fouls in the final 1.4 seconds -- one that apparently would cost Butler the game and the other that ended Pitt's season in the nuttiest way -- the players, coaches and officials got it.

All, in the urgency of the dying moments in a wonderfully played game, never stopped trying their mightiest to do their jobs.

When Butler's Shelvin Mack, his team having just gone ahead by a point with 2.2 seconds to go, bumped Pitt's Gilbert Brown out of bounds near midcourt, it raised the question of why Mack would risk putting Pitt's leading scorer (24 points) on the free-throw line when Brown reasonably hadn't had time for a high-percentage shot.

Logically, Mack was trying to ensure that Brown handled the pass to get the clock moving, but he got too close and couldn't stop himself from careening into Brown.

"And once the call was made,'' Mack said, "I realized that it was the dumbest foul in Butler history.''

So with the clock at 1.4 seconds, Butler up 70-69, Brown -- who made all three of his earlier free throws -- cleanly dropped in the first of two for the 70-70 tie but had the second (surely the game-winner) spin out. And as Butler's Matt Howard snatched the rebound, Pitt's Nasir Robinson whacked him on the arm.

Again, an obvious foul, and with eight-tenths of a second left, Howard needed to make only one of two free throws. Which he did, hitting the first and deliberately missing the second. "Stupid mistake,'' Robinson said. "I blame myself.''

Except, as Brown said, "Nasir was just trying to make a play. It's not like he did it intentionally or anything. He's a hard worker. He's a hustler. He doesn't stop until it's over.''

What so many observers questioned about a last-second non-call in the St. John's-Rutgers game a week earlier, that the officials shirked their duty, didn't apply this time with referees John Higgins, Terry Wymer and Antonio Petty. They called what everybody could see.

"I think if it's a foul, it should be called a foul, no matter if it's 0.8 seconds left on the clock or 39 minutes left,'' Mack said. "The game is played a full 40 minutes.''

Higgins and his crew did what they "do every day,'' Higgins said. "It just happened to be a crucial part of the game.''

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon repeatedly said he had no argument with the officiating, while lamenting how Pitt could shoot a hot 56 percent, outrebound Butler 33-22 and still lose.

The answer to that was as evident as those last two fouls: Butler, too, was remarkably efficient on offense. The Bulldogs were 12-for-27 on three-pointers, and Mack doubled his average with 30 points. They also managed to blunt Pitt's superior size with tireless effort.

"With such great teams,'' Howard said, "you know it's going to come down to the end, and these are the type of games and moments that you play for as a competitor.''

An easy concept to grasp.