Thursday night’s college basketball game between Furman and Tulane was among the best of the year thus far. It involved a 15-point comeback and double overtime.
However, the Paladins made a major social media blunder before the game was over. Their official team account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted the final score when the score was in fact not final!
That post went live with 0.8 seconds left. J.P. Pegues had just knocked down a triple to take a three-point lead and the team went wild.
However, upon further review, 0.4 seconds were left on the clock. The Green Wave threw a Hail Mary on the inbounds pass and Kevin Cross was fouled as he pulled up for the buzzer-beater.
Tulane’s senior forward went to the line. He knocked down three-straight free throws to send the game to an extra period.
Furman had to quickly delete its victory graphic. It had not won the game as everybody thought!
To make matters worse, the home team went on to defeat the visitors by seven in double overtime. Not only was the post declaring a win incorrect in regulation, it was incorrect, period.
Although the final result was pretty embarrassing for the Paladins, they put up an incredible effort after being down by 15 just before halftime. The entire game was electric.
There were 20 total lead changes, including 10 during the overtime periods. Both teams combined for 30 three-pointers made. Six different players had more than 20 points.
Not only did Cross step up to the free throw line with the game in his hands, he dropped a triple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists. Have a night!
Unfortunately, Furman’s social media team is equally as responsible for the loss as Davis Molnar, who committed the foul. There are two things you cannot do in that situation.
- Foul the shooter as he is in the act of shooting.
- Post the final score before the clock hit zero.
Both of those things are simply unacceptable during a one-possession game with less than one second left. The social media team should have waited for the review to make sure that there were double zeros on the clock. The Paladins should have either fouled Cross as soon as he caught the ball before shooting or cleared out to ensure that there was no contact on his desperate final-millisecond attempt.