LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bryce Alford’s final jumper Thursday appeared off-line when he let it fly from behind the 3-point arc, and all the UCLA guard could do was helplessly watch the battle for the rebound.
SMU center Yanick Moreira was in position and seemed to time his leap as he went up to touch it. The officials, however, thought he was a bit too quick and called goaltending, awarding Alford the winning basket with 13 seconds left in a game that’s sure to be this NCAA Tournament’s most debated.
Alford, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, had no doubt there was interference.
“I had a pretty good look at it because I shot it,” Alford said after the 11th-seeded Bruins’ 60-59 South Regional victory ended sixth-seeded SMU’s season. “From my angle, I saw Kevon (Looney) and another player going after it, and I was confused because he went up and grabbed it on its way to the rim.
“I don’t know if it would have gone in or not, but he definitely grabbed it on the way.”
Officials went to a monitor to determine it was a 3-point shot and were resolute in their call, telling a pool reporter that it wasn’t reviewable. SMU coach Larry Brown, a former UCLA coach, couldn’t believe goaltending was called.
“We gave the rule number and the article,” official Sean Hull said in citing Rule 9.3a 1 and 2. “Under two minutes by rule, we have a directive to do that. At the table it was confirmed that it was a 3, and we put the ball back in play.”
Said Moreira, a 6-11 senior: “I think I hit the rim first. I hit the net or the rim. That’s how it kind of goes.”
SMU (27-7) still had two shots to win in the final seconds. But guard Nic Moore, who scored 24 points, missed a 3-pointer and then a two-point attempt that sent the Bruins (21-13) into a wild celebration.
Alford had an amazing 27-point performance that came on nine 3-pointers — including four in the final 3:40. He certainly did his father, second-year UCLA coach Steve Alford, proud. Steve was a star sharpshooter at Indiana in the 1980s.
“He leads us in assists. He runs the team for us,” Steve said of his son, “and in a game like this, where it was so physical and, I thought, two teams that really fought defensively, he had to make some shots.
“He’s always being compared, obviously, because I played the game. I’ve said it over the last two years: He’s better than Dad.”
UCLA, meanwhile, offered another example that it’s better than its record. The Bruins, a team many felt didn’t belong in the field of 68, advanced to Saturday’s round of 32 against No. 14 UAB, an upset winner over third-seeded Iowa State.
