Instant Replay For High School Basketball Should Be Used Only In The Smallest Of Doses

The Northern Maine basketball tournament ended in dramatic fashion Saturday night, with Parker Ponte’s 3-point shot as — or after — time expired giving Dexter a 50-48 victory over Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in the Class C boys final. I’ve just looked at the replay at game speed several times trying to focus on the shooter and the orange lights behind the backboard that signify that time has expired and still can’t tell whether the shot was released in time or not. When I saw Ponte’s shot in person I thought it was good, as did the majority of folks sitting along my section of press row at the Cross Insurance Center at the time. But a slow-motion version of the replay and several still photos make it appear that the shot likely was not out of Ponte’s shooting hand before the backboard lights came on, making the attempt too late. The quick-strike response from those upset with a split-second human decision by veteran game officials is to follow the path of professional and college sports and demand instant replay. I’m not so sure that in this instance it would have made a difference. The live streaming production of Maine’s high school tournament contests, while a great service to Maine high school basketball fans, is not like TNT broadcasting the NBA or CBS televising the NCAA’s March Madness with dozens of cameras placed around the arena to provide virtually every angle of a given play. WHOU.live, which now live-streams the majority of Maine’s tournament games for the Maine Principals’ Association, typically uses two cameras per game at the Bangor, Augusta and Portland venues, with one camera featuring replay capability. When I initially saw the slow-motion replay of the Ponte shot in the immediate aftermath of the game, it wouldn’t have prompted the former official in me to change the original call.