Controversial call helps decide semifinals matchup between Ball Stars and Villains in Summerlin

Chase Skinkis of the Villains

No one wants any game to end with free throws. That is true for a Week 1 matchup, and it’s especially true in a playoff game with a trip to the championship game on the line. Most people prefer a natural outcome, whether that be a buzzer-beater or a game-deciding play on defense.

Unfortunately, the former is how last night’s semifinal matchup between Ball Stars and Villains in the Summerlin Open League was decided. After a Hollis Hale missed 3, a rebound was fought for by Jerome Williams and Chase Skinkis with about a second left in the game . Williams looks to come down with the rebound until Skinkis pokes his hand at the ball while Williams is coming down, stripping the ball loose while making contact. A foul was called on Skinkis, sending Williams to the line for two shots because Ball Stars were in the double bonus. To increase the drama, Williams missed the first free throw, but he buried the second one to secure a 73-72 win to send Ball Stars to the championship game against BTE next Monday.

“I get in front of the play, hit the ball when he (tries) to bring it down. The contact is after (it’s) gone with him swinging his arms. Strip was 100% clean,” Skinkis said in a comment on the stream of the game in the UH Las Vegas Facebook group.

You can watch the sequence of events at the 7:24 mark in the video. It’s nearly impossible to come to a conclusion on if a foul is committed from the one angle the video shows, but to me, it doesn’t look like a clear foul. At that stage in the game, you’d hope for the referee making the call to swallow their whistle and let the game be decided in overtime, but unfortunately that was not the case. I’m perfectly fine with a foul call deciding a game, but it has to be an obvious foul to be called, and this was not obvious.

While the ending of this game won’t sit well with the Villains, and rightfully so, they do have to blame themselves for the missed opportunity. What started this sequence was a missed free throw by Skinkis that was rebounded by Josh McCarver and eventually kicked out to an open Hale at the top of the arc. In a tie game, Skinkis missed two free throws, and after that, Hale, a career 45% 3-point shooter, missed a wide-open 3. There were three opportunities for the Villains to take at least a one-point lead with a few seconds left, but it all ended up with them giving up free throws with 0.8 seconds left in the game.

This game, and especially the final 10 seconds, really showcases the cruelty of basketball. The frustration from borderline calls, the agony of missed free throws and the randomness of shot-making were all on display, and it ends with Ball Stars heading to their second straight championship game.

This continues a trend of close games between Ball Stars and Villains over the last two seasons. The six games that they’ve played in during that span have been decided by an average of 5.1 points, with the Villains winning four of those games (with Ball Stars winning both playoff matchups).

This now sets up a rematch of Ball Stars and BTE in the championship game, which saw BTE win 97-88 last season. Ball Stars got the best of BTE earlier this season, beating them 91-89, marking BTE’s first loss since June 24. We’ll see what happens this time around.