East Carolina had to beg the referees to look at the rim after missing multiple shots during Thursdayโs college basketball game against Tulsa. The American Athletic Conference Tournament underwent a lengthy delay as a result of a massive dunk.
Play did not resume for more than 25 minutes!
It all went down with just under seven minutes and 30 seconds left in the second half. Pirates forward Ezra Ausar caught a bounce pass on the fast break, took a dribble past the Golden Hurricane defender and slammed it home for two.
In doing so, the entire hoop was moved out of position by just a few inches. The rim also bent ever so slightly when Ausar finished hard and swung out of the way of people below him.
Play continued for about four minutes at a rapid pace. Both teams were flying up and down the court in transition. However, East Carolina was struggling to finish. Good looks were not falling.
And after a pair of free throws rimmed out, Ausar and the Pirates were confident that something was wrong. They were right!
The hoop was off-center and the rim was bent. It took five different staffers about 25 minutes to correct the issue but they got the job done!
Both teams ultimately returned to the court for an additional warmup period and the game got back underway. East Carolina โ which played approximately four minutes on a broken hoop โ quickly returned to form and won the game by five.
The Pirates advanced to the AAC quarterfinals with the victory and will forever be able to hold it over the Golden Hurricaneโs head that they won the college basketball game while playing on a busted rim!