The call that wasn't

Was it a trip, or was it a spill? Was it a foul, or was it a non-call?

That was the talk in The Daily News newsroom this morning, all of us wondering why North Carolina and not our Rhody Rams will be playing in the NIT final on Thursday night. With the Tar Heels clinging to a one-point lead, URI senior Lamonte Ulmer grabbed a long rebound with about four seconds left.

As he started down the court for what would have been a 2-on-1 fast break, he hit the deck, lost control of the ball and time expired. Game over. It appeared that he got tangled with North Carolina's Will Graves, but the referees, whistles in mouths, did no blowing.

Both coaches had their take on the situation, which, astonishingly, were pretty similar.

"We got the rebound (on the final play) and were ready to go. I thought there was some contact and he tripped. He clearly tripped running down the court," Rams coach Jim Baron said.

"I don't know what happened, but something probably should have been called there at the end,” said Tar Heels coach Roy Williams. "I don't know if our guy tripped over somebody else but it looked weird. I feel badly that the game ended like that."

All I could think when it was over is that is URI needed this win, from a program standpoint, much more than UNC, the defending national champions, who have won four titles since 1982. A win here, and the Rams would face Dayton in the championship game, a big boost for the Atlantic 10 Conference, which had a stellar season on the whole.

Alas, it was not to be. So what did you think? Trip? Foul?