SMU loses to UCLA on a horrific, heartbreaking goaltend

It looked like Bryce Alford’s game-winning three attempt was off-line and destined to miss. But SMU’s Yanick Moreira reached up and tried to swat it:

Although people have mixed feelings about the call, it does seem like this was a goaltend after looking at it from several angles -- the ball was above the rim and coming down and did still have an opportunity of hitting rim. The shot was almost certainly going to miss, but it still had a hypothetical chance of going in, and to a referee’s eyes, that’s a goaltend. If a shot is even within the realm of the rim, it is a very bad idea to try and block it, because it gives the ref the opportunity to make this call.

You have to feel for Moreira, whose career ends on this unfortunate lapse of reason:

★★★

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