Tyler Skaggs, Santa Monica High’s star pitcher, also plays basketball for the Vikings’ junior varsity.
Against Culver City on Friday night, January 18, Coach Doug Kim decided to make good use of Skaggs’ strong left arm, having the 6-foot-4 junior throw a 60-foot pass at the end of the third quarter hoping for a teammate to tip the ball in.
However, Skaggs’ throw went into the basket, setting off a wild scene.
The official grabbed the ball and waved off the shot but Kim protested vigorously, claiming the ball was still in play.
Kim lost his argument but checked the rulebook after the game and saw he was right. He didn’t claim the throw from out of bounds should have given Samohi two points but he was correct that Samohi could have grabbed the ball and shot it again. However, right or wrong, the official stopped play when he blew the whistle.
Nobody in the crowd said they had ever seen that play before.
Samohi went on to win the game.
