March Madness 2025: Agonizing moment player’s last-second blunder costs South Carolina State a bid

By JAKE NISSE

South Carolina State’s Caleb McCarty committed a costly error on Saturday against Norfolk State – and badly damaged his team’s hopes of making March Madness.

Playing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship and for a chance at an automatic bid, McCarty tied the game at 65 apiece with a layup after Norfolk State turned the ball over during an inbounds play. The score came with just 10.6 seconds remaining.

But McCarty apparently thought his team was still losing, as he followed up his basket by racing down the court to intentionally foul opponent Christian Ings and put him on the free throw line.

With Norfolk State – the top seed in the MEAC – in the double-bonus, Ings got two free throw attempts and split the pair to give his team a one-point lead with 8.9 seconds remaining.

That left enough time for South Carolina State to try and rectify McCarty’s blunder, but Jayden Johnson missed before the buzzer and the Spartans ultimately missed out on the NCAA Tournament in heartbreaking fashion.

McCarty finished the game with four points and two rebounds in 19 minutes. 

Caleb McCarty (in black) intentionally fouled Christian Ings despite the game being tied

Norfolk State is seen celebrating their win and NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday night

The senior has averaged 4.1 points and 3.3 points per game this season for South Carolina State.

Norfolk State later earned an extremely tough assignment in the tournament as they were handed a No. 16 seed.

They will face Florida on Friday night, and the Gators are many people’s picks to win the national championship.

Florida are a massive 28.5-point favorite in the game, according to FanDuel.

The game tips off at 6:50pm in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

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March Madness 2025: Agonizing moment player’s last-second blunder costs South Carolina State a bid

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