PHILADELPHIA – UCLA’s season was slipping away when Trent Perry drove toward the basket.
Challenging UConn’s Alex Karaban as he approached the rim with a little less than five minutes left in their NCAA Tournament second-round showdown, Perry absorbed some contact before rising for a layup.
Karaban reached up to block the shot from behind as Perry tumbled to the court.
One of Karaban’s teammates grabbed the loose ball and the Huskies were off and running again Sunday night inside Xfinity Mobile Arena … or so they thought.
As point guard Silas Demary Jr. reached halfcourt, a whistle blew.
An official signaled for a technical foul as he turned and motioned toward Mick Cronin.
The UCLA coach’s transgression? He had appeared to sarcastically applaud as the official ran past him, evidently for no foul being called on the previous play.
As everyone milled about with play stopped, Cronin spread his arms in disbelief, appearing to tell the official, “I never said a word.”
Karaban stepped to the foul line and made both technical free throws. What had been a nine-point lead for the Huskies was now 11.
There was no coming back for the Bruins, their fate sealed during an eventual 73-57 loss that involved plenty of other frustrations.
UCLA played without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, who sat out a third consecutive game with a knee injury. The Bruins were uncharacteristically sloppy on offense, once again outrebounded decisively and repeatedly fouled 3-point shooters.
But perhaps no sequence proved as dubious as the technical foul on Cronin with 4:41 left.
“I have no comments about any of that,” Cronin said afterward when asked about the sequence.
Did Cronin’s history of run-ins with referees or his animated sideline demeanor play a role in the unusual technical?
There were no clear answers about the call from officials after the California Post requested that a pool reporter ask for an explanation.
In a statement, the officials said the technical foul “was issued pursuant to Rule 10, Section 3 (Class A Unsporting Infractions), Article 2, which reads: ‘Bench personnel committing an unsportsmanlike act including, but not limited to, the following: Disrespectfully addressing an official.’ It also says, ‘Objecting to an official’s decision by rising from the bench or using gestures.’ ”
Absent a clear, direct explanation, it appeared that Cronin’s clapping triggered the technical.
His season over, Cronin was moving on, not saying anything about not saying anything to the officials.
