CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In two decades as an assistant coach, after playing basketball for Johnson C. Smith, Mark Sherill has seen a lot.
But Wednesday night was a first.
The game between Johnson C. Smith and visiting Winston-Salem State ended in a draw.
A tip-in by Javan Wells of the Rams tied the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Division II game at 76 with 0.3 seconds left when Joshua Linson tried a full-court shot. The ball hit off of two lights, knocking them out, according to John Dell of the Winston-Salem Journal — with one light left hanging.
After trying to fix the situation, head coach Stephen Joyner Sr., also the Johnson C. Smith director of athletics, had a conference with the game officials to reassess the situation and it was deemed a safety concern.
"We didn't know how long the chains would last," Sherill said. "The Winston-Salem coach (Bobby Collins) agreed it didn't look safe. I've been in basketball a long time; this is the first time I've ever had a draw."
He said the schools and CIAA officials would determine if the game would be finished at a later date. The schools are 78 miles apart.
"It was a great call and the right call for safety," Sherill said. "If it would have come down on one of the student-athletes (in overtime), you would have been calling us for something else."
Marquez Jones scored 21 points, Preston Ross 20 and Wykevin Bazemore 16 for the Rams.
Linson had 25 for Johnson C. Smith with Emilio Parks adding 18 and Antwan Wilkerson 13 with 10 rebounds.
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