Officials blew the ending. How do they not grant Fairmont a timeout? There were 2 seconds left. What a clown show of officiating in that game. The bald ref was the worst ref I’ve ever seen.
They didn't have any timeouts.
In my opinion two things led to Centerville winning. Number 1 for Fairmont going out for a spell was key. He had kept Cupps pretty much quiet all night. His replacement was not ready for that spotlight. When Cupps made that huge 3 point play near the end, he did it with #1's replacement guarding him. You could tell he was licking his chops when he saw who had just got switched out on him. Then he proceeded to waltz right by him as if the kid was standing still.
The 2nd issue that led to Fairmont's demise was timeout management. They were burning timeouts in the first half like they were going out of style. Then proceeded to make so so timeouts in the 2nd half as well. The worst being their final one. I have no idea why he burned that last one. I honestly thought Centerville had called it. I know Coach Cupps had to have been like "uhhhhh ok, thanks."
Outside of that, Fairmont played a stellar game, damn near perfect. Which is what they needed to beat Centerville. Unfortunately, when you get to this level one mistake can be enough.
