Seconds after Allen Graves' go-ahead 3-pointer put Santa Clara ahead by three points with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, Herb Sendek recognized the need to stop play and set his team's defense before Kentucky could inbound the ball.
Sendek raced down the sideline signaling for a timeout as referee Todd Austin ran ahead of him in the same direction with his back turned to the Santa Clara coach.
What happened next on Friday afternoon will live forever — in Sendek's nightmares and inNCAA tournamentlore. Kentucky's Otega Oweh received the inbound pass on the run, charged up court and banked in a game-tying 32-footer as the buzzer sounded, sending a thrilling first-round NCAA tournament classic to overtime and paving the way forseventh-seeded Kentucky to escape with an 89-84 victory.
When asked about the sequence by reporters after the game, Sendek said, "I unequivocally called timeout, but they didn't grant it."
"I mean, I think the video evidence is clear," Sendek continued. "And anybody's able to pull it up. Which is a likely response after Allen hits the 3 that the coach would be calling timeout to set the defense, which I tried to do and was successful in doing other than that it wasn't acknowledged or recognized."
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The video evidence shows Sendek hesitates briefly after Graves' 3-pointer but does begin signaling for a timeout just before Kentucky gets the ball inbounds. The referee on the far side of the floor appears to be looking right at Sendek but opts to allow the play to continue rather than awarding Sendek the timeout.
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As former Santa Clara coach Kerry Keatingpointed out on social media, Sendek also could have increased his chances of getting the timeout had he been positioned differently.
"Make sure you are standing as close to half court as possible, NOT at the end of your bench," Keating wrote in a "pro tip" to young coaches. "Refs can't see you when the ball is past you!"
Had Santa Clara been able to stop play and set its defense, Sendek might have instructed his players to foul intentionally rather than giving Kentucky a look at a game-tying 3-pointer. Santa Clara forward Elijah Mahi admitted later that "there was just so much going on in those last seconds" that the Broncos players on the floor didn't even consider that possibility.
Oweh, a player with a long history of late-game heroics, made Santa Clara pay for giving him the chance to extend the game. When he raced down court, he pulled up right beside Kentucky head coach Mark Pope. As the ball left Oweh's fingertips, Pope said he heard his star guard say, "That's a bucket!"
Oweh led Kentucky with 35 points, including a pair of game-tying baskets in the final seconds of regulation. His ability to get to the rim put Kentucky in a position to win the game, as did the shot blocking and interior defense of center Brandon Garrison.
While Kentucky moves on to face the winner of Iowa State-Tennessee State, Santa Clara heads home after its first NCAA tournament appearance in 30 years. The Broncos can take pride in pushing a blue blood to the brink of an early exit but they'll also have to live with the sour taste of knowing the outcome might have been different if Sendek's timeout were granted.
"It was a really euphoric high," Sendek said, "followed by a tough one to swallow."
