College Basketball

Longtime college basketball ref roasted for ‘bad call’ at end of Arizona-BYU game

Arizona and BYU might be playing in the Big 12 now, but the Pac-12’s troubled officiating legacy reared its ugly head on Saturday night.

BYU beat Arizona 96-95 thanks to a highly questionable call made by longtime Big 12 and former Pac-12 official Tony Padilla with 3.2 seconds left in the game.

And Padilla is getting roasted on social media.

Padilla, who played college baseball at Gonzaga and has been a college basketball official for 22 years, has a reputation for inserting himself in big moments instead of letting players determine the outcome — which is exactly what happened in the final minute of what had been an incredibly entertaining game.

With his team trailing 95-94 with under 10 seconds left, BYU forward Richie Saunders drove down the right side of the key on Arizona forward Trey Townsend, got cut off and picked up his dribble. After pivoting twice, he leaned into Townsed and put up a desperation, off-balance four-foot airball in the lane that fell into the hands of Arizona forward Tobe Awaka as the buzzer sounded.

The primary official on the play — Justin Shamion, who was positioned on the baseline — did not blow his whistle. Padilla, who was the trailing official, called a foul on Townsend from his position near halfcourt.

Saunders made both free throws to give BYU the victory. After the game, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd was disappointed in his team’s defense, but made it clear he didn’t agree with the call.

“It’s a bad call. … You hate for a game to be decided by that,” Lloyd said. “Trey (Townsend), I feel horrible for him. … He played good defense. The guy’s pivoting, pivoting, pivoting, throws his shoulder into him, throws up a shot and falls down.”

Here’s a look at the controversial play and the reaction to Padilla’s call from fans and media members.

“Lot of unhappy folks voicing their displeasure to me. Shoot – I just don’t see enough contact,” wrote OfficiatingObserver17 on X. “Primary official, Shamion, passes on it and Padilla, the crew chief, calls it from trail position. This is a tough one. Really feel defender did everything right here.”

“Imagine Arizona getting ‘homered’ at McKale,” wrote longtime Sporting News college basketball columnist Mike DeCourcy. “Arizona’s defense was lousy most of the game against BYU, but Trey Townsend did everything right on final Cougars possession: hands up, no reach. I guess the message to Zona is: Welcome to the Big 12; you thought Pac 12 refs were bad?”

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