Instead, one of the officials ruled that Olson released the ball after the buzzer sounded, so the potential game-tying shot didn’t county, allowing Fayette County to walk away with a 69-66 victory in a Region 5-AAAA game.
LaGrange head coach Mike Pauley said there appeared to be time on the clock when the ball left Olson’s hands, and he said two of the officials signaled that the shot was good.
One of the referees waved the shot off, though, and the three officials left the court without discussing the play, and that was that.
“We thought he (got the shot away), and we thought he got fouled and it went in,” Pauley said.
Another point of contention for Pauley was the disparity in free-throw shooting.
While Fayette County made 15-of-22 attempts from the line, LaGrange only attemped two free throws and made one.
“They played an entire game with full-court pressure and half-court trapping stuff and had nine total team fouls,” Pauley said.
Pauley was thrilled with his team’s effort, even it didn’t result in a win.
LaGrange (11-3) is 2-1 in region play.
“I thought (Saturday) night was one of our better games that we’ve played. It was one of our better efforts,” Pauley said. “That was real promising.”
Kwame Brown led LaGrange with 17 points, Rudra Kissun added 11 points and Olson chipped in with 10 points.
LaGrange led 14-7 after the opening quarter, but Fayette County rallied to take a 50-49 lead at the half.
The Grangers went on top 50-49 through three periods after Olson hit a 3-pointer, and it remained tight the rest of the way.
In Saturday’s girls’ game, the Lady Grangers (12-2, 2-1) suffered their first setback of the season with a 55-45 loss to Fayette County.
It was close late, but Fayette County made its free throws down the stretch to pull away.
Steara Mitchell led LaGrange with 17 points.
LaGrange will host Sandy Creek Tuesday night.
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