Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry to lost his cool with the way the Fighting Irish’s game at California ended in the early morning hours Saturday.
With Notre Dame ahead, 71-68, in the final seconds, Golden Bears guard Dai Dai Ames shot and made a 3, drawing a foul from Logan Imes in the process. The referee initially ruled it an and-1 opportunity, but then overturned the call and said the foul occurred before the shot.
A few seconds later, though, the referee overturned that ruling, deeming the basket good and sending Ames to the free throw line for a chance to take the lead with five seconds remaining.
Ames made the ensuing free throw to put the Bears up 72-71.
After a timeout with 2.4 seconds left, Notre Dame had one last shot to win. A 3-point attempt from Braeden Shrewsberry clanked off the front iron, though, giving Cal a home ACC win.
As soon as the final horn sounded, Shrewsberry charged toward the referee that awarded the four-point play opportunity, visually angry and yelling at him. Multiple Notre Dame players and staffers had to restrain the third-year coach for a few seconds before Shrewsberry led the postgame handshake line with Cal.
“I want to apologize for what took place immediately after the Cal game last night,” Shrewsberry said in a statement posted to social media. “My actions were inappropriate and not symbolic of the leader I strive to be and what Notre Dame expects of its coaches and educators. I will learn from this lack of judgement and be better in the future. I want to apologize to our team, our university and its leaders, to coach [Mark] Madsen and his team, and to the ACC, as my actions were unacceptable.”
It was a brutal loss for the Irish, who led for most of the contest. The margin reached as high as 12 points midway through the first half and was 69-65 with 16 seconds remaining before blowing the late lead.
Notre Dame basketball player Cole Certa yells at official after loss at Cal
A separate angle that surfaced Saturday morning shows Cole Certa turn from his spot on the court, as the final shot was errant, and start yelling at the official. Certa started following the official and was held back by a teammate.
Then a charging Shrewsberry came, fighting through an assistant coach, and two reserve players finally able to restrain Shrewberry physically.
Certa scored 16 points in 24 minutes on 4-of-10 shooting, 3 for 7 on 3s, and 5 for 7 at the free-throw-line.
Braeden Shrewsberry has 21 points to lead the team, and former Fishers guard Jalen Haralson had 17.
This story was updated to add new information, footage and Shrewsberry’s statement.
Austin Hough is a sports editor within the Center for Community Journalism at USA Today Co., overseeing high school sports and Notre Dame athletics coverage for five Indiana newspapers. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough. Hough can be emailed at ahough@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Notre Dame basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry charges ref after loss at Cal
Reporting by Austin Hough and Aaron Ferguson, South Bend Tribune / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
