And last night was really no different. The officials were allowing physical play the first half but in the second half they got a little tighter with their whistles but mostly only on one end of the court. The only bad call that we got the benefit of was the stuff on Rivers toward the end of the game that was probably a relatively clean block, but that was actually a make-up call from earlier, probably the blocking foul on Shields where he picked up his 4th on what should have been a charge against Minnesota
But, given the history of the Bob not being a place where we've gotten the calls over the years, this game played out about perfectly. Two of our starters foul out on, at best, ticky-tack things that weren't getting called on the other end of the floor. And still we're in the game. The bench rose to the occasion and played some of their best ball.
Then, at the very end, the refs were really trying to give Minnesota a chance at the tie by calling that quick 5 second count. And I mean REALLY TRYING. But Minnesota misses the shot, we get the offensive board, Ubel gets fouled and we make the foul shots count. (Thank goodness Ubel hit those freethrows, or we'd have been in OT.)
But that's the way it needed to happen. What a fitting ending. Getting dogged by some questionable officiating, two of our starters fouling out, and holding on for a win in spite of it all. And, to top it all off, Brandon Ubel, the great kid and unsung hero over the last 4 years, the kid who so many said didn't belong at this level and who has received a significantly unfair share of criticism over the last 4 years, makes some big-time plays to secure for us the win.
Couldn't have scripted it any better than that. Thanks Bob.
P.S. Who was the governor whose veto had to be overridden to have the Devaney Center built? That guy should be flogged in effigy.
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