Had even one more tenth of a second remained when Florida Gulf Coast inbounded the ball down two points in double overtime Tuesday night, the Eagles would have completed one of the most jaw-dropping plays of the season.
Instead a remarkable full-court lob pass went for naught
Chase Fieler's acrobatic game-tying shot actually appeared to leave his hands before the game clock hit triple zeroes, but referees still made the proper call nullifying the basket and awarding South Florida a 68-66 double-overtime victory. Since only three tenths of a second remained when FGCU inbounded the ball, anything besides a tip-in had to be waived off per NCAA rules because there wasn't enough time to get off a shot.
That referees made the proper call won't offer much consolation to an FGCU program that would have loved the boost a road win at South Florida would have provided.
With coach Andy Enfield at USC, star guard Sherwood Brown playing overseas and top big man Eric McKnight still suspended, FGCU is having a difficult time recapturing magic of its Sweet 16 run last March. The Eagles are off to a modest 5-5 start this season and will need to up their level of play to out-duel Mercer and USC-Upstate for the Atlantic Sun title, let alone to make another NCAA tournament run.

- - - - - - -
Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @JeffEisenberg